100 dead in Myanmar floods after Typhoon Yagi

On September 16, 2024, 3:15 AM

More than 100 people have died in flooding and mudslides caused by the remnants of Typhoon Yagi in Myanmar.

Spokesman for the nation’s ruling junta, Zaw Min Tun, said in a statement on Sunday that 113 people had been confirmed dead, with a further 64 missing – though regional reports suggest the true death toll may be higher.

Meanwhile, over 320,000 people have been forced to evacuate to temporary shelters, according to the AFP news agency.

Yagi, Asia’s most powerful storm this year, has already proved devastating as it swept across Vietnam, Laos, the Chinese island of Hainan and the Philippines.

At least 287 people were thought to have died as a result of the storm before it reached Myanmar.

While the typhoon has been downgraded to a tropical depression since making landfall in northern Vietnam, it has continued to cause deadly landslides across south-east Asia.

In Myanmar, state media reports that nearly 66,000 houses had been destroyed as of Friday evening, along with 375 schools and a monastery. Several miles of road and other infrastructure have been washed away.

Also as of Friday, more than 236,000 people were being accommodated at 187 relief camps.

The impacts of heavy rainfall have centred on the Kayah, Kayin, Mandalay, Mon, and Shan states – which cover the central region of Myanmar.

Some say the number of deaths is already far higher than official estimates.

Radio Free Asia, a US-backed broadcaster, reported that at least 160 people had died in Myanmar – with social media accounts loyal to the ruling junta suggesting 230 people had died in the Mandalay region alone.

Japan’s state broadcaster, NHK, reported that more than 120 people had died as of Saturday.

EPA People carry their belonging as they wade through flood waters in Pyinmana, Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on 13 September 2024.

In Kalaw, a hill town in the Shan state, at least 12 people had died as of Saturday, one of whom was eight years old, the privately-owned Eleven Myanmar news website reported.

One man told AFP how he had tried to rescue people with ropes, as floodwaters 4m (15 ft) high surged through the town on 10 September.

“I could see trapped families in the distance standing on the roofs of their houses,” he said.

“I heard there were 40 bodies in the hospital.”

A woman who runs a company in Kalaw claimed her staff had said 60 people had died in the town, AFP reported.

Myanmar has suffered a three-year civil war since a military junta seized power in 2021. The UN estimates that thousands have been killed and 2.6 million people have been displaced by the conflict.

The Shan state is also home to several armed insurgent groups, some of which have de facto control over some of its territory.

Myanmar’s information ministry says emergency and health workers have been deployed to areas affected by floods, and that it has provided funds for food and drinking water for evacuees.

Emergency responders have also begun repairing damaged roads and bridges, state media reports.

Scientists say typhoons and hurricanes are becoming stronger and more frequent with climate change. Warmer ocean waters mean storms pick up more energy, leading to higher wind speeds.

A warmer atmosphere can also hold more moisture, which can lead to more intense rainfall.

Yagi is expected to move away from Myanmar in the coming days. Another tropical depression is forecast to develop in the western Pacific in the coming week.

Story By BBC