Fears that embankments could burst under fresh rains mounted yesterday in flooded southeastern Myanmar, where about 150,000 people have been forced from their homes and a dozen people killed.
A vast area of farmland across four provinces was under muddy water, with rescue teams trying to reach villages by boat to provide food to those who are unable or refuse to leave their homes.
Above the town of Madauk in Bago Region, floodwaters are only centimeters from the top of vulnerable embankments that have been holding fast, but locals are afraid that fresh monsoon rains could spell disaster.
Photo: AFP
“If this embankment doesn’t hold firm against the next flood, many more villages will be at high risk,” rescue team leader Hlaing Min Oo told reporters as he oversaw a chain of volunteers loading a boat with food destined for marooned flood victims.
“For the moment, there’s little chance that the water levels will go down,” he said.
Evacuation orders are still in place across Bago, Karen, Mon and Taninthari regions, with 36 dams and reservoirs overflowing, state media said.
State media yesterday reported that 148,386 people are currently taking refuge in 327 camps.
The Myanmar Alinn newspaper said nearly 28,000 people are still in their flooded homes, either unable to escape to shelters or are opting to stay in the hope that water levels will start to recede.
Reporters on Wednesday traveled several hours to reach Maubin village in Shwe Kyin District with a relief boat, passing multiple settlements of half-submerged thatched homes, many with trapped residents looking out of upstairs windows at the inundations.
A monastery run by five monks was serving as a collection point for donated rice, noodles and biscuits in Maubin, a village of 108 households.
“Our house is just beside the river bank, so we’re trying to move somewhere higher,” 54-year-old Ohn Myint said, pointing to the hills a couple of kilometers away.
Farmer and fisherman Win Kyu, 40, was primarily worried about his fields that now lie completely under water.
“We experienced flooding like this back in 2000 — this year is the worst since then,” he said. “If this goes on, people will struggle to make a living.”
Myanmar is only just entering peak monsoon season, but it is not suffering alone.
Particularly heavy rains this year have lashed much of the Mekong region, with a dam in neighboring Laos collapsing last week, destroying several villages and leaving scores of people missing.
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