PATHEIN — Over 10,000 locals across more than 30 villages in Hinthada District, Irrawaddy Division have had their homes inundated as floodwaters from northern Burma make their way through the Irrawaddy Delta.
Floods hit the district on Saturday, forcing thousands of people from their homes. Those displaced by the flooding have taken refuge at monasteries and schools, according to Kyaw Thet Oo of the Hinthada-based Human Rights Defenders and Promoters.
Locals from Myanaung Township said that 5,000 people from 10 villages had been forced to leave their homes.
“Ooe Boe, Daunt Gyi, and Ye Bu Su villages are worst hit by the floods. Houses are inundated and all the people and cattle there had to move to inland areas. All of Thabyaygon village is inundated and around 1,000 households have moved from there,” said local Than Myint Htike.
More than 3,000 people were affected by floods in Kyangin Township, though no casualties had been reported so far.
Political parties, civil society groups and locals are helping flood victims in Kyangin, Myanaung and Hinthada townships, and well-wishers are helping flood victims at relief camps in Kyangin, Myanaung and Hinthada townships. Volunteers claim that government aid has not yet reached those forced to leave their homes.
“We have not yet seen any aid from the government for flood victims,” said Kyaw Thet Oo. “We and other organizations have had to ask for donations from our friends and relatives. Food supplies are gradually running out.”
A further 2,000 left their homes in Hinthada Township, and floods have also hit the nearby townships of Yegyi, Thabaung and the divisional capital Pathein.
Around 40 households were evacuated in Thabaung’s Ta Loke Gon village while residents of Phayani village were preparing to move to the local monastery on Monday afternoon as a result of rising water levels, according to township administrators.
In 2012, Irrawaddy Division experienced severe floods in Pathein, Thabaung and Kagyidaunt townships, inundating over 270,000 acres of farms and destroying nearly 80,000 acres of crops.