NAYPYIDAW - Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful storm to hit Asia this year, killed at least 226 people in Myanmar and affected more than half a million more, adding another strain to the war-torn nation’s already limited resources.
Torrential rains caused water levels in rivers and creeks to rise, resulting in floods that damaged infrastructure and crops in 84 townships including in the capital Naypyidaw, the Ministry of Information said. More than 70 people are missing, according to official data.
Tens of thousands of people fled to safer grounds, including 438 relief camps nationwide, as water inundated more than 158,000 homes and destroyed 2,116 more, the government said.
The extent of Typhoon Yagi's impact has prompted junta chief Min Aung Hlaing to make a rare request for foreign aid. "Officials from the government need to contact foreign countries to receive rescue and relief aid," the state media quoted him as saying. Myanmar has so far received 10 tonnes of aid including dry ration, clothing and medicines from neighbouring India.
The death toll in Myanmar is likely to rise further. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated 631,000 people were likely affected, and "multiple sources indicate that hundreds of people have died, with many more missing," the UN agency said in a report.
In neighbouring Thailand, heavy rains across some of its flood-ravaged provinces will likely continue over the next four days. At least 45 have died from flooding and related incidents since mid-August, while about 28,000 households remain affected by the floods across 13 provinces, according to Thailand’s disaster prevention department.
Yagi also left a trail of destruction Vietnam, killing more than 350 people and caused US$1.6 billion in damage. Vietnam’s most powerful storm in decades is another sign that global warming is making tropical cyclones fiercer.
Evacuation and rescue efforts in Myanmar are ongoing, often times hampered by damaged infrastructure, ongoing clashes and the lack of funds, the UN agency said. Junta spokesman Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun said a thorough assessment of the damage will be made to provide support accordingly.
Myanmar’s meteorology department asked people near the riverbanks in three towns to flee to safer ground as Sittaung River has exceeded its danger level by about five feet. It also forecast heavy rains in three provinces including war-torn Rakhine State in the next 24 hours.
