Myanmar Villagers Salvage Rice Crops Submerged by Floods
Typhoon Yagi swept Myanmar with powerful winds and an enormous amount of rain, triggering floods and landslides. With official figures confirming 500 fatalities and 77 more people missing, the crisis has further deepened the miseries of people in Myanmar where millions have suffered through more than three years of war since the military seized power in 2021.
In addition to that, nearby rice fields have been completely submerged by floodwaters, prompting farmers to salvage as much rice crop as they can. According to the Myanmar state media, nearly 260,000 hectares (640,000 acres) of rice paddies and other crops were destroyed by Typhoon Yagi.
“We have already faced wars and fled from villages many times. We have many troubles and now it’s floods again — so much suffering in our lives,” said Chit Thein, a local.
The junta has begun relief efforts, opening more than 400 camps and appealing for international aid.
In the Loikaw district, Chit Thein said that the people of Phayarphyu village were still waiting for help. He said, “There are many things we have lost. We lost houses, clothes in the wars, and now floods have hit our house so we have nothing left. We are sheltering at a monastery. But there is not much food for us and no donations, and no one has come to help us.”
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said an estimated 631,000 people have been affected by the flooding across Myanmar. UNOCHA added that food, drinking water, shelter, and clothes are all urgently needed. They also warned that blocked roads and damaged bridges were all severely hampering relief efforts.
According to the UN World Food Programme, the floods were the worst in Myanmar’s recent history. Severe flooding hit the country in 2011 and 2015, with more than 100 deaths reported on both occasions.
The junta issued a rare appeal for foreign aid. India is so far the only country to respond, sending 10 tonnes of dry rations, clothing, and medicine. UNOCHA emphasized that more resources are urgently needed.
Meanwhile, Typhoon Yagi has forced hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia to flee their homes with rivers swelling and creeks reaching beyond bursting point. Thailand’s northern provinces were hit hard, with one district reporting its worst flooding in 80 years.
In Vietnam, more than 230,000 homes were damaged and around 280,000 hectares of crops were destroyed. Typhoon Yagi tore across Red River Delta, a vital agricultural region in Vietnam that is also home to major manufacturing hubs, damaging factories, and infrastructure, and inundating farmland. The typhoon caused an estimated 40 trillion dong ($1.6 billion) in economic losses, state media reported, citing an initial government assessment.
