Salween River is overflowing
According to an article in Myanmar Times, about 5000 people have been forced to leave their homes because of flooding in Kayin State’s Hpa-an township, state media said last week, after the Thanlwin River (former name Salween) exceeded its danger level by more than one metre.
A Fire Services Department evacuation report said the water level of the river in the Kayin State capital hit 883 centimetres at 4:30pm on August 3, above its danger level of 750cm, and it was expected to continue rising.
A fire brigade official in the town said 4823 people from 886 households had been shifted to eight relief camps by the evening of August 3.
“The flooding has affected quarters one, two, five and nine in Hpa-an,” he said. “Water came into the floor of the houses in these quarters and authorities and relief teams are providing assistance and healthcare services” to those in the relief camps.
The state-run Kyemon newspaper reported on August 4 that 5136 people in Hpa-an township had been evacuated from their homes, while 220 people in Hlaingbwe township, Kayin State, had also been affected. About 1000 people from 187 households were evacuated because of flooding in Madauk, beside the Sittoung River, the report said.
Flooding is likely to intensify if some areas, with the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology forecasting heavy rain in Ayeyarwady, Bago, Tanintharyi and Yangon Regions and Kayin, Mon and Rakhine States in the 48 hours following the evening of August 3. The department attributed the rain to a low pressure area in the northwestern part of the Bay of Bengal.
The department has forecast moderate to strong monsoon conditions in the first 10 days of August and above-average rainfall in Tanintharyi Region and Kayin, Mon and Rakhine States.
Written by : Reinhard Hohler
