Latest newsAfter typhoon "Yagi": many dead and missing in Myanmar too
SDA
13.9.2024 - 07:46
In addition to Vietnam and Thailand, super typhoon "Yagi" has also hit Myanmar hard. According to official figures, at least 19 people have died in flash floods and landslides so far. According to eyewitnesses on the ground, however, the number of victims could be much higher. Many areas in the country, which is ruled by a brutal military junta, were cut off from the outside world due to flooding.
13.09.2024, 07:46
SDA
"The villages and communities near the capital Naypyidaw are in a terrible state," 34-year-old Kyaw Kyaw, who was working for locally organized rescue teams, told the German Press Agency. "Some places could not be reached by the teams so far." This was preceded by heavy rain in the wake of "Yagi".
In addition to Naypyidaw, the Bago region north of the largest city Yangon and the two regions bordering Thailand, Shan and Kayah (also known as Karenni), were particularly affected. "We don't know how many people have died," Kyaw Kyaw continued. "People were completely helpless when the floods came because the junta did not send proper recovery teams."
Junta hardly helps the population
A woman in a refugee camp in Kayah State spoke of at least 24 deaths in this region alone. "But many are also missing. There are no proper rescue measures here," she told dpa. The junta had recently flown air strikes on the population in the region because resistance fighters were operating there.
The former Burma has been plunged into chaos and violence since a military coup in February 2021. Every natural disaster affects the population even more than in other Southeast Asian countries.
Death toll in Vietnam continues to rise
In Vietnam, which was also massively affected by the storm, the death toll rose to 233 and more than 100 people are still missing, according to the disaster control authorities. According to the authorities, the most violent tropical storm in decades raged for 15 hours last weekend. The capital Hanoi was also badly affected.
There were also heavy losses in agriculture: according to the information, around two million farm animals died, including mainly poultry and livestock. More than 200,000 hectares of rice fields were severely damaged.
Thailand is also still on the alert. Large parts of the provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, which are popular with tourists from all over the world, have been under water since Wednesday. At least six people have died so far. Some residents had to be rescued from the roofs of their houses by helicopter. Meteorologists warned of further heavy rainfall.