At least 19 people were killed in Burma (formerly known as Myanmar) as torrential rains caused flooding in and around the war-torn country's capital city, with rescuers using boats to transport some of the 3,600 people evacuated to safer places, according to the national fire department.
Typhoon Yagi, Asia's biggest typhoon of the year, has killed over 230 people in Vietnam and Thailand, while floodwaters from overflowing rivers have overwhelmed towns in both nations.
Burma has been in chaos since a military coup in February 2021, with violence engulfing most of the poor country.
An armed insurrection, consisting of new resistance organizations and existing ethnic minority armies, is battling the well-armed military amid a devastating economic crisis that may be exacerbated by the floods.
According to satellite imagery analysis by the UN-backed Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), around 162 square kilometers around the capital Naypyitaw were inundated on Thursday.
Another 366 square kilometers around Mandalay, Burma's second largest city, seemed to be under water, according to the investigation.
“In total, 3,602 flood-affected people from 30 locations were rescued and moved,” the fire department said in a Facebook post late on Thursday on its Naypyitaw operations, adding 19 people had been killed.
Flood floods inundated several buildings, leaving inhabitants, including women and children, stuck on rooftops before being rescued and transported onto boats, according to photos issued by the department.
Around one-third of Burma's 55 million people require humanitarian help, yet many relief organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, are unable to work in many places due to access limitations and security concerns.
