The devastation wreaked by Typhoon Yagi continued as the number of people killed in Myanmar rose to over 220, with nearly 80 others still missing.
According to the military government, the storm swept through northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar in early September and has killed more than 500 people across the region so far, according to official figures.
The typhoon triggered severe floods and mudslides in Myanmar, killing well above 226 people and wrecking whole villages.
Also, the United Nations (UN) has warned that with hundreds of thousands of acres of crops destroyed, more than half a million people in the war-torn country are in urgent need of food as well as drinking water, shelter and clothes.
The UN said the storm’s devastation spanned nine states and regions, including the country’s capital Naypyidaw in the interior, as well as Mandalay to the north, Magway to the west, and Bago to the south – regions that lie along the Irrawaddy, Myanmar’s largest river.
Also hit were Shan State in the northeast and Mon, Kayah, and Kayin states, which lie to its south.
Describing the flood as one of the worst in Myanmar’s recent history. the United Nations’ response agency estimated that some 630,000 people have been affected by the flooding with blocked roads, damaged bridges, and severed communication lines, all of which have severely hampered relief efforts.
By Dave Oludare Oso
