The death toll in Myanmar from flooding and landslides caused by Typhoon Yagi has risen to at least 74, with 89 individuals still missing, as reported by Myanmar’s state television on Saturday. The challenges in gathering information have sparked concerns that the actual number of casualties might be higher.
The latest official death count disclosed by the country’s military government has surged to over double the previously reported 33 fatalities on Friday. Typhoon Yagi had previously struck Vietnam, northern Thailand, and Laos, claiming more than 260 lives and leading to significant damage.
These updated figures were revealed following reports from state media that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s ruling military council, had stated that Myanmar was seeking international assistance for relief efforts. Around 240,000 people have been displaced, with the UN refugee agency indicating that Myanmar already had 3.4 million displaced individuals at the start of September, primarily due to conflict and upheaval in recent years.
Parts of Mandalay, Bago, Shan state, and the capital Naypyitaw have been submerged in water since Wednesday due to the flooding. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and other military officials inspected the flood-affected areas and evaluated rescue, relief, and rehabilitation operations in Naypyitaw on Friday, as reported by the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper. The General instructed officials to engage with other nations to receive aid for the affected individuals, much like other countries impacted by the storm.
Efforts to assess the casualties and destruction and provide aid are intricate given Myanmar’s ongoing civil conflict that began in 2021 when the military seized power from the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. There are concerns that the death toll could significantly increase, with local media reporting over 100 individuals missing.
Myanmar encounters severe weather nearly every year during the monsoon season. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis caused the deaths of over 138,000 individuals. During that disaster, the military government in charge at the time delayed accepting foreign assistance and tightly controlled its distribution once they eventually agreed to receive aid.
State television news on Saturday evening stated that the flooding had damaged 24 bridges, 375 school buildings, one Buddhist monastery, five dams, four pagodas, 14 electrical transformers, 456 lampposts, and over 65,000 houses in central and eastern Myanmar. Naypyitaw was one of the areas severely affected by the floods. According to Myanmar’s Eleven Media group, record-breaking rainfall had harmed several pagodas in Bagan, the nation’s ancient capital recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The heavy rain, described as the most intense in 60 years, caused structural damage at numerous centuries-old temples.
