Kantarawaddy Times
Continuous heavy rains over the past week have caused flooding and landslides in six areas across Karenni State, including the Shan-Karenni border, according to reports from local residents.
Flooding has affected low-lying areas in Pekin Village on the Shan-Karenni border, while in Yardo Village, Tar Taung Gyi Township, landslides triggered by mountain runoff have caused damage to roads and bridges. Additionally, over 10 shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been destroyed, said Ko Pho Zaw, a member of Htun Myanmar Donation Group, which is providing aid to the IDPs.
“We are near the Yardo Bridge on the Taungoo-Laik Tong Road. As water from the mountains surged, it damaged the Yardo Bridge area, where around 70 IDP households live in the forest. At least 10 shelters have been destroyed by the heavy water flow,” Ko Pho Zaw said.
In addition to the destruction of the shelters, some IDPs have sustained injuries, although there are no life-threatening conditions, he added.
Elsewhere, roads in Daw Rok Khu and Saw Pa Tan village tracts in Dee Maw Hso Township are submerged. In Daw Rok Khu, at least 60 acres of rice paddies have been flooded, according to a local resident.
“It’s still raining. It’s been three days without stopping. It just alternates between heavy and light, but it never completely stops,” an IDP (internally displaced person) told Kantarawaddy Times.
On September 11, a cargo truck was swept away by floodwaters on the Htoo Chaung section of the Dee Maw Hso-Mawchi road, as river levels continued to rise.
Local residents have reported significant transportation difficulties due to the ongoing floods and landslides.
The heavy rains and floods are believed to have been triggered by the powerful Typhoon Saola known in the Philippines as “Super Typhoon Goring”, which impacted China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, as well as another cyclone affecting India. As a result, Myanmar has been experiencing widespread heavy rainfall, strong winds, flooding, and landslides.
The military council’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology has forecast that the effects of the storms, including heavy rains, may continue until September 12, affecting many regions of Myanmar, including Karenni State.
