Myanmar: 293 dead and 89 missing from Typhoon Yagi

The death toll from the massive floods reaches 293 dead, another 89 people are still missing

Massive floods caused by Typhoon Yagi in Myanmar have killed at least 293 people, according to the latest death toll released by the military junta.

Another 89 people are still missing from the floods in various sectors of the country, the military regime informed.

Some 2,700,000 hectares of rice fields and other crops were covered by the waters and over 100,000 farm animals were lost, according to the same source.

Over the weekend, the military junta called for international aid to deal with the disaster — an extremely rare occurrence, as the regime has previously blocked foreign aid from entering the country.

The first shipment of foreign aid arrived in the country on Wednesday. It is an Indian ship loaded with dry food, clothing, medicine and tents that arrived at Thilawa port, near the financial capital Rangoon.

Regime leader Min Aung Khlaig said he hoped order would be restored to the country “in six months”, the state-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported yesterday.

Over 600 dead in total in Asia

Typhoon Yagi caused floods and landslides of a magnitude unprecedented in decades in Asia. The dead in total have exceeded 600.

It initially hit, in the first days of September, the Philippines and southern China, where at least 24 people were killed and dozens injured. It then claimed the lives of at least 588 people in four countries: Vietnam, the worst-hit state (299 dead); Myanmar (268); Thailand (20); and Laos (1 dead); according to data from the authorities announced.

In Myanmar in particular, the floods hit populations already extremely vulnerable due to the civil war that has plunged the country into chaos since the generals’ coup on 1 February 2021.