At least 226 people have died and 77 are missing following flooding and landslides in Myanmar triggered by Typhoon Yagi and unseasonal monsoon rains last week, state media reported Tuesday. New figures put the total death toll in Southeast Asia from the typhoon at more than 500.
The tally of losses has been slow, in part due to communication problems with affected areas. Myanmar’s civil war began in 2021 after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Independent analysts believe the ruling army controls less than half of the country’s territory.
Typhoon Yagi earlier hit Vietnam, northern Thailand and Laos, killing nearly 300 people in Vietnam, 42 in Thailand and four in Laos, according to the ASEAN Humanitarian Aid Coordination Centre. In the Philippines, 21 people are said to have died and 26 others are missing.
An estimated 631,000 people have been affected by flooding in Myanmar, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Monday. According to the UN refugee agency, 3.4 million people had already been displaced in Myanmar by early September, mainly due to war and unrest in recent years.
Heavy rains from typhoons and seasonal monsoons have caused widespread flooding in Myanmar, particularly in central Mandalay, Magway, Bago and the Ayeyarwaddy Delta; the eastern states of Shan, Kaya, Kayin and Mon; and the country’s capital, Naypyitaw City.
Some flooded areas have begun to recede, but the situation remains critical in Shan and Kaya states.
Myanmar Aline reported that more than 160,000 houses have been damaged and 438 temporary relief camps have been opened for more than 160,000 flood victims. The military government announced that some 240,000 people had been displaced.
Myanmar’s Alin said 117 government offices and buildings, 1,040 schools, 386 religious buildings, roads, bridges, electricity pylons and telecommunication towers were damaged in 56 cities.
He also said the floods killed about 130,000 animals and damaged more than 640,000 acres of farmland.
The UN humanitarian agency said food, clean water, medicine, clothing, humanitarian aid and shelter are urgently needed for flood victims, but relief efforts are hampered by blocked roads, destroyed bridges and ongoing armed conflict.
Adjutant General Saw Win, a second-ranking member of Myanmar’s ruling military council, said the country had received humanitarian aid from other countries and was counting on the support of the ASSN. Southeast Asia will be arriving soon.
Suu Win, speaking at a meeting of the National Disaster Management Committee on Monday, said the level of flooding in the capital was unprecedented and that clean-up and reconstruction work in the flooded areas began on Thursday when the water level receded.
Myanmar experiences extreme weather conditions almost every year during the monsoon season. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 people around the confluence of the Irrawaddy River. The then military government was heavily criticised when it delayed accepting foreign aid.
