Floods in Myanmar have claimed at least 226 lives in just over a week as at Tuesday, September 17.
The heavy rains caused by Typhoon Yagi, have severely affected the central provinces of the war-torn Southeast Asian nation.
Additionally, about a third of Myanmar’s 55 million people are already in need of humanitarian assistance due to ongoing conflict that began with the military coup in February 2021 which overthrew the civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The regions most affected by the flooding include Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, Naypyitaw, the capital and parts of Shan State, a large province that has experienced intense fighting in recent months.
In the Mandalay region alone, approximately 40,000 acres of farmland were flooded and around 26,700 homes were damaged due to the heavy rains and flooding, as reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that many flood-affected areas are hard to access due to damaged roads and disrupted telecommunications and electricity networks.
“Affected areas include camps for displaced people, including children, who were already struggling with limited services due to ongoing conflict,” UNICEF said in a statement.
Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to impact Asia this year, has ravaged parts of Southeast Asia, claiming at least 292 lives in Vietnam where it made landfall.
In Thailand, the storm triggered heavy rains and flooding that affected northern cities, including those near the Myanmar border.
Since last month, flooding and related incidents like mudslides have resulted in at least 45 deaths across Thailand, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
In Laos, flooding across eight provinces has led to at least three deaths and the evacuation of over 440 families.
The floods have also submerged approximately 7,825 acres of paddy fields, according to UNICEF.
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