The death toll from flooding triggered by Typhoon Yagi in Myanmar has more than doubled to 74, with 89 people missing, state media reported Sunday, a day after the junta made an unusual appeal for international aid.
According to official figures, floods and landslides have killed nearly 350 people in Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand following Typhoon Yagi, which hit the region last weekend.
The death toll from authorities on Friday evening was 74 dead and 89 missing, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported. The previous figure was 33 dead and more than 235,000 people forced from their homes.
Search and rescue operations are continuing, the newspaper said, adding that the floods have destroyed more than 65,000 homes and five dams.
– Flooded farmland –
Large swathes of farmland have been flooded in the centre of the country, particularly around the capital Naypyidaw, and landslides have been reported in mountainous regions.
With roads and bridges damaged and phone and internet lines down, it is difficult to gather information on the situation.
The Sittaung and Bago rivers, which run through the centre and south of the country, were both still above dangerous levels on Sunday, state media said, but water levels were expected to drop in the coming days.
The country’s authorities have opened 82 camps to house people forced to leave their homes, according to state media.
Thailand’s meteorological office warned of further heavy rains in provinces along the Mekong River on Sunday.
The disaster further deepens the misery in Myanmar, which has been plunged into a humanitarian, security and political crisis since the February 2021 coup against the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 2.7 million people have been forced from their homes by the ongoing civil conflict.
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday called for international help to deal with the floods, a rare move as the government has previously blocked humanitarian aid from abroad.
In mid-June 2023, he suspended travel permits for NGO members trying to help around a million victims of Cyclone Mocha in the west of the country. The United Nations then denounced an “incomprehensible” decision.
On Saturday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Myanmar and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told AFP they were unable to comment on the junta’s request at this time.
Scientists say climate change is making the monsoon, which hits Southeast Asia from June to September, even stronger and more erratic.
According to a study published in July, climate change is causing typhoons to form closer to shore, intensify more quickly and stay over land longer.
rma/mca/cco/tmt/juf
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