Article from : http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=13916
A landslide in the village of Bawbada in Mogok Township killed six people on Saturday, while flooding forced thousands of residents of Pegu Divison to flee their homes, as torrential downpours hit a wide swathe of Burma over the weekend.
Six people—three men, two women and a child—were killed in Bawbada, located about 5 miles from Mogok, on August 16, after their home was swept away by a landslide, according to Mogok resident Hla Oo.
Hla Oo said it has been raining almost continuously for three months in Mogok—known as the ruby capital of the world—and there is still no sign of it abating.
In June, at least eleven people in Mogok were killed following flooding and landslides.
Meanwhile, torrential rain which started in early August has flooded at least 25 wards and villages in Pegu Division, forcing about three thousands residents to flee the area, according to residents of Pegu, located about 105 miles from Rangoon.
Heavy rain also damaged thousands of acres of paddy fields and some fields are still flooded, said local residents. Flooded regions included Pyuntansa, Shwegyin and Madauk, all in Pegu Division.
Pe Pe, a resident of Pegu, the capital of Pegu Division, said local authorities had opened temporary rescue shelters for flood victims at schools and monasteries. Authorities and volunteer donors, including monks, are now providing food to the refugees, she said.
She added that the rain has now stopped in the area, and some residents were returning to their homes.
A police officer in Pegu who refused to be named said they established about 19 temporary rescue camps and have provided packages of rice to refugees. He said that the situation is now returning to normal and people are starting to return. He also claimed the flooding had no impact on paddy fields.
In Pyuntansa, Shwegyin and Madauk, however, the rain has not stopped and floodwaters have not subsided. Local residents said they haven’t received any assistance from the authorities. Shwegyin and Madaunk are totally flooded and people have to use boats to get around, said residents.
Chit Thar, a resident of Pyuntansa, said authorities had ignored requests for help.
“I told the Ward Peace and Development Council that we [farmers] couldn’t find paddy seeds. I asked them to sell paddy seeds to us, but they said they couldn’t,” she said.
Meanwhile, rising water levels on the Irrawaddy River have alarmed residents of Nyaungdon Township in Irrawaddy Division, who say they are worried about the possible collapse of a dam located near the village of Kachaung.
If the dam collapses, the towns of Nyaungdon, Maubin, and Twante could be flooded, said residents. The authorities have not given any warning of this threat to people in the area.
Last Saturday, the state-run Myanma Ahlin newspaper reported that the floods hit areas of Rangoon and the Irrawaddy delta, where Cyclone Nargis left a swathe of devastation in early May, as well as other regions of the country. No casualties were reported.
A boy plays in floodwaters at a flooded shop, about 25 km (16 miles) east of Laos' capital Vientiane, on August 16. The Mekong, which flows 4,350 km (2,700 miles) from the glaciers of Tibet to the rice-rich delta of southern Vietnam, hit 13.68 metres (44.88 feet) in Vientiane on Thursday, trouncing a high of 12.38 metres (40.61 feet) recorded in 1966, the worst floods in living memory. (Photo: Reuters)Flooding has also hit parts of Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. In Laos, at least four people died after levels in the Mekong River reached record highs.
In Laos, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yong Chanthalansy said on Friday that four people had died outside the capital, Vientiane, after being injured in landslides triggered by the flooding. Yong said that there were reports that the flooding was receding on Friday after water levels in the Mekong had reached 44.8 feet (13.68 meters), exceeding the previous recorded high of 40.61 feet (12.38 meters) in 1966. Another report suggested that at least 130 people were killed, dozens were missing and thousands were driven from their homes in northern Vietnam, and hundreds of tourists were forced to flee the resort area of Sapa.
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