47 deaths reported in Myanmar floods

The effect of monsoon in Myanmar has caused destruction all over the country. According to officials, the figure of deaths has reached 47 Monday morning.

Weeks of heavy rains have destroyed more than 212,000 hectares of farmland, the Ministry of Agriculture said. Heavy rain still continues, which may lead to many more serious effects.

On Friday, the government declared four worst-hit areas in central and western Myanmar, which include Western Rakhine and Chin states, as “national disaster affected regions.”

More than 7,000 people were said to take shelter in rescue camps at 23 monasteries in the town of Minbyar. “We need drinking water urgently. Our road communication is cut,” Minbyar resident Khin Zaw Win told AFP .

Local media reports on Monday morning depict the floods and landslides damaged over 20,000 homes and thereby affected around 200,000 people in Sagaing and Mandalay areas along with Kachin and Shan states. The figures of deaths and destruction are expected to rise, according to the UN’s Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA.

According to the estimation of Ko Ko Kyaw of the Myanmar Red Cross Society, “Almost all parts of the country were facing the flood,” and hence, the death rate toll is much higher.

In spite of such warnings, Myanmar government seems to have a very slow response on the issue. In the announcement made by the President Thein Sein last week, he said, “huge destruction and face difficulty returning to normal conditions,” state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.

Seeing the destructed condition of the whole country, the Myanmar government is expected to give a quick response and handle the situation adequately.

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