Thousands of Burma residents trapped by floods

They are cut off from the world. In Burma, thousands of people are living without electricity and telephone communications, following heavy flooding in the north of the country, residents and local media have reported. The Ayeyarwady River in Kachin State in the north of the country has exceeded its “danger level” in the city of Myitkyina after several days of heavy rain, according to state media.

“The water is rising very quickly. Many residents are still stuck in their homes,” a Myitkyina resident told AFP, adding that electricity and telephone networks had been cut off since Sunday.“There is a fuel shortage and rescuers are having a hard time reaching people by motorboat”he added. The waters had receded slightly by Tuesday morning, but it was still raining. The flash flood trapped thousands of people in their homes, and the country’s weather bureau warned of more heavy rain in the coming days.

Downstream, in Mandalay, the country’s second city, the Ayeyarwady could rise by 1.8 to 3 metres in the first 10 days of July. During the rainy season, from June to October, landslides are common, posing a deadly risk to thousands of migrant workers who travel to Kachin State to work in precious metal mines. The flooding comes just weeks after a record heatwave that sent temperatures soaring to 48°C in some parts of Myanmar.