Myanmar’s military regime has barred rescue teams from accessing Loikaw, the capital of Karenni (Kayah) State, where at least 10 wards have been submerged by floodwater, according to residents. Large areas of Karenni State have been flooded by runoff from southern Shan State, where Inle Lake burst its banks after torrential rain last week.
Volunteers heading to Loikaw were turned back at a junta checkpoint manned by Artillery Battalion 530 on Loikaw-Hsihseng road, said a resident.
“All the vehicles were stopped, checked at the checkpoint, and turned back. Rescuers were also turned back,” he said.
Flood victims in Loikaw and surrounding villages have received hardly any relief supplies amid military tensions in Karenni State, local charity Shwe Loikaw reported on Tuesday.
Karenni resistance groups seized almost half of Loikaw during an offensive launched last November but junta troops recaptured the state capital in June.
The regime has since tightened security in the town while restoring administration and launching reconstruction work. Some residents returned recently, only to be hit by flooding.
Communications have been down in Loikaw since last week, said residents.
Houses have been submerged in low-lying wards in Loikaw and in villages along the Balu Chaung River.
Thousands of residents in Loikaw need to be evacuated, but the regime has failed to arrange transport and left the task to a few firefighters, said a resident of Shansu ward.
“Only about 20 firefighters from Loikaw and Demoso townships are helping us. They only have three vehicles and three boats. How can they help the entire town? We have to move our belongings by ourselves,” he said.
Main roads in some wards are submerged under 1.5 meters (five feet) of floodwater, making it impossible for small vehicles to pass, according to locals.
“We need many rescue teams to move household items,” said a Loikaw resident who has been helping internally displaced people. “Smaller vehicles can no longer use the main road in Loikaw. Even bigger vehicles are stalling as the floodwater is more than four feet deep. So we need 50 to 60 boats.”
Residents, including bedridden individuals and children who were unable to evacuate in time, remain stranded in multistory buildings. Rescue teams need to search every corner of the town since communication services are down and trapped people can’t ask for help via their phones, the Loikaw resident said.
The regime has pledged to provide 2,000 kyats, rice and a bottle of cooking oil per person for over 1,000 people evacuated to a religious building, said a flood victim from Minsu ward. But some evacuees are still waiting for those supplies despite registering days ago, he said.
“I registered with authorities but have received nothing. It has been three days and we have to move our household items by ourselves through floodwater,” he told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
“The floodwater in the town is contaminated with sewage, so we have developed itchy skin. And we have started to suffer from diarrhea.”
He said the floodwaters had risen by another six inches (15cm) since all three sluice gates in the Moe Bye Dam upstream were opened.
“The whole town has become water. I am afraid it will take weeks before the floodwaters recede.”
Locals are mainly in need of non-perishable food and medicines.
Loikaw residents have called on the regime to grant rescue teams access to Loikaw town along with boats, life jackets, shelter materials, drinking water, instant noodles, and medicines.
