100 villages under water in Sagaing as flood death toll rises

With Myanmar’s flooding problem slowly disappearing from the news cycle, it might seem like the crisis is over. 

But many places are still extremely vulnerable.

To the north in Sagaing Division, fresh rains have revived concerns and left 100 villages under water, Radio Free Asia reported.

In Sagaing’s Khandi Township, 600 homes are under water.

“The water level in Khandi is now at 1,545 centimeters, [608 inches], and the danger level is 1,360 centimeters [535 inches],” Chit Htway Tun, a supervisor at Khandi’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, told RFA.

“We are now at over 185 centimeters [72 inches] above danger level, and the water is still rising nearly an inch each hour,” he added.

The nationwide death toll from the flooding, which was triggered by Cyclone Komen toward the end of July, has risen to 122, the government said in its latest report released this week.

The report also says that 1.6 million people have been displaced by floods and landslides in July and August.

More than 476,000 houses have been “partially damaged or destroyed,” the report says.

Photo / Coconuts Media
 

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