Torrential rain began to fall over the town of Magway at around 10pm on August 20 and continued until 3am. The resulting floods entered 200 homes, swept away several chickens, and left one truck driver missing as of yesterday afternoon.
The truck driver, Eleven has reported, was delivering a load of rice from Pyay to Mandalay. He encountered an overflowing creek running across the Natmauk-Pyawbwe road near Layeain village, Magway Region. He attempted to drive the 12-wheeler across the creek, but it stalled in the middle.
Despite warning by witnesses and police not to get out of his truck, the driver got out and stepped into the creek to check on it. He was then swept away by the strong current and remains missing.
“The creek’s current was very strong. He tried to cross it, even though others warned him not to. His truck was stopped in the middle of the creek, and he was washed away as he got out of the truck to check it,” a witness said.
The driver’s assistant was left trapped in the truck and was later rescued.
In addition to the unfortunate truck driver, floods in Magway’s Aung Myittar Ward carried away kitchen utensils and animals. The water has also made transportation difficult in the city and cut off the area’s electric power supply.
“The floodwater started coming in at around 10pm. It continued rising to waist-level by 3am. We haven’t slept. Some chickens we keep at home were washed away,” local resident Win Naing Oo told Eleven.
“It’s really bad. We can’t go to work,” said Min Min Htet, another resident.
Magway Region labor minister and government spokesman Nay Myo Kyaw said that he has been informed of the situation in Magway and that officials have been dispatched to help the residents.
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