People walk through an area affected by a landslide in Paung Township, Mon state on August 9, 2019. – A landslide caused by heavy monsoon rains killed at least 13 people and injured dozens more in eastern Myanmar, officials said on August 9, as floods forced tens of thousands across the country to flee their homes. (Photo by Ye Aung THU / AFP)
A landslide caused by heavy monsoon rains killed at least 13 people and injured dozens more in eastern Myanmar, officials said Friday, as floods forced tens of thousands across the country to flee their homes.
The deluge of mud engulfed 16 homes and a monastery early Friday in Thae Pyar Kone village in Mon state, district administrator Myo Min Tun told AFP.
“Thirteen people have so far been found dead and 27 taken to hospital in Mawlamyine (Mon state’s capital),” he told AFP by phone.
Emergency teams are set to continue the search and rescue operation into Friday night in the hunt for more survivors or to retrieve bodies.
Workers were also trying to unblock the main highway from Yangon to Mawlamyine, buried under up to six feet (1.8 metres) of debris, Myo Min Tun added.
Torrential downpours have caused rivers to burst their banks across the country while coastal communities have been warned of looming high tides.
AFP aerial images showed how the town of Shwegyin in eastern Bago region had turned into a vast lake after the Sittaung river burst its banks.
Just the rooftops of some buildings could be seen as residents grabbed all they could before fleeing in rescue boats.
Officials say at least 30,000 people, mainly in Bago region and Mon and Karen states, were seeking refuge from the floods, many in monasteries.
The UN’s Office for Coordinated Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has estimated around 89,000 people have been displaced in recent weeks, although many have since been able to return home.
Vietnam has also experienced heavy flooding this week with at least eight people killed in the country’s central highlands.
Rescuers used a zipline to take dozens of victims to safety in Lam Dong province.
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