Myanmar flood: Flood wreaks havoc in Myanmar, more than 10,000 people displaced

Residents of Myanmar’s flood-hit Bago city rescued food and belongings from their submerged homes on Tuesday after record rains have displaced 14,000 people, officials said. The rainy season typically brings months of heavy rain to the Southeast Asian country, but scientists say man-made climate change is making the weather patterns more intense. Residents in the eastern city of Bago had to wade through waist-deep water on roads or swim in boats or on rubber tires. The waves were falling on closed shops and houses.

“This is the first time in my life that my house has been flooded,” 101-year-old Phawar Than Hme told AFP from the monastery. I was standing on a chair when my house was flooding. My neighbors and rescue team people told me not to stay at home and go to the camp. He carried me on his back and brought me here. On Sunday officials said 200 mm (about eight inches) of rain had fallen in the past 24 hours in the Bago region, northeast of the commercial hub Yangon – a record for October. Heavy rain continued till Monday night.

“I didn’t expect this level of water here. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Chit Nyunt, 69, told AFP as he walked down the street holding a pair of sandals and an umbrella. State broadcaster MRTV said the commercial 14,000 people have been displaced in the Bago region, northeast of central Yangon. About 5,600 people are being housed in local government makeshift relief centres, according to the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar.