Torrential rains lashed the administrative capital of Naypyitaw, claiming at least 19 lives and trapping thousands of residents in inundated houses. Rescue teams are overstretched, with many residents trapped on roofs and in trees for more than 24 hours.
Since early this week, Myanmar has seen heavy rains and flash floods triggered by Typhoon Yagi that made landfall in Vietnam.
In Pyinmana, Tatkon, Zeyathiri, Pobbathiri and Zabuthirit townships in Naypyitaw, more than 50 villages were hit by severe flooding after water came down from mountains and dams overflowed on Wednesday and Thursday, according to locals and volunteers.
The Myanmar Fire Services Department (MFSD) on Thursday said at least 19 people died in the floods in Naypyitaw, but other rescuers said the number may be higher. Ten others were reported missing.
A resident from Nyaungbingyi village near Pyinmana sugarcane mill told The Irrawaddy on Thursday: “Floodwaters rose fast in just an hour from 4 p.m. yesterday and houses were submerged. In many flooded houses people had to climb on the roof. We have sought help from various organizations but nobody has come so far.”
There are around 350 houses in Nyaungbingyi alone. All the villagers were trapped, and some elderly people and children got sick after getting soaked and going without food for more than 20 hours as the rains continued, he said.
The MFSD said on Thursday evening that it had evacuated 911 flood victims, but an MFSD official said the department is overstretched.
“Many places have been hit by floods, and we have to dispatch rescue teams to many locations, so it takes time,” he told The Irrawaddy on Thursday evening.
Apart from manpower shortages, the department is also short of boats, while strong currents are hampering rescue efforts, he added.
Environmentalist U Win Myo Thu wrote on Facebook: “It is shocking. The country was only hit by the skirts of the typhoon, but flooding is severe and widespread. This is a sign that climate resilience has declined a lot.”
Some victims died while waiting for rescue.
When charity workers went to rescue 35 people trapped in Pyinmana Township on Thursday morning, one elderly person had already died after getting soaked by the rain all night, according to a charity worker.
“They were in a siris tree, including the elderly person who died.,” he said. “They were up there the whole night in the rain.”
Heavy rainfall and water that cascaded down from Shan Hills flooded Intha Dam in Tatkon Township as well as Ngalike and Sinthay creeks in the areas, he added. Those trapped remain at risk as heavy rain continues.
One volunteer said the flooded area stretches some 80 km from Tatkon to Pyinmana and is 3 to 4 km wide. “Rescue teams simply can’t reach all the places,” he added. “People could die if they are trapped much longer.”
On the evidence of calls for help to rescuers, thousands remain trapped in Naypyitaw.
An official from the junta’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement in Naypyitaw told The Irrawaddy that it had dispatched rescue teams on Thursday morning and was responding to requests for help from flood victims, but the official admitted the ministry is overstretched.
The Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services on Thursday night said 77,249 flood victims had been evacuated to 26 temporary relief camps across Naypyitaw.
On Thursday, the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology warned that another low-pressure trough was likely to form north of the Bay of Bengal and reach Myanmar within 24 hours, resulting in more heavy rainfall, flash floods and landslides through Sunday.
