Flooding in Myanmar leaves 12 dead

By Kyaw Ye Lyn

YANGON, Myanmar

At least 12 people in Myanmar have been killed in flooding that has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes in several parts of the country over the past few days, authorities said Thursday.

Myanmar has been facing floods in seven regions since last week as most rivers have exceeded their danger levels by several feet and 36 dams and reservoirs are overflowing due to heavy monsoon rains.

The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement said 132,692 people have been taking shelter at 293 temporary camps in the flood-affected regions.

“Among the 12 people killed, three are soldiers who were swept away by floodwaters during a rescue operation in northeastern Mon state,” said Director-General Ko Ko Naing of the Disaster Management Department.

“Heavy rains are still hampering us from reaching many of those affected places,” he told Anadolu Agency.

At least 30,000 acres of farmland have been completely destroyed due to the week-long flooding, according to the government.