57 Dead As Floods Hit Burma, Thailand

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57 dead as floods hit Burma, Thailand

At least 57 people have been killed and thousands forced to abandon their homes as the worst floods in recent memory wreaked havoc across Thailand and Burma on Thursday.

One official says Burmese authorities evacuated 500 homes on the outskirts of the central city of Mandalay after floodwaters rose overnight, while residents say about 10,000 people had fled to emergency shelters.

Some sought refuge in schools, but many were forced to camp out by the side of the road.

Desperate villagers piled whatever possessions they could carry into canoes as floodwaters submerged homes.

The road between Mandalay and the tourist city of Bagan was blocked, as was the main highway between Yangon and Mandalay, with lorries backed up for kilometres waiting for about 1.5 metres of water to subside.

Most official media made no mention of the devastating floods, although the official Mirror newspaper said 10 people had been killed when the floodwaters hit Kyuakpantaung township, 240 kilometres south-west of the city of Mandalaya on Tuesday (local time).

A Burmese-language state-run newspaper put the overall toll at 13.

State media reported on Wednesday (local time) that more than 3,000 homes and 364 hectares of farmland were inundated.

Thailand

In neighbouring Thailand the death toll from flooding caused by heavy rain in the wake of typhoon Xangsane rose to 44.

The floods, which began last August, have affected two million people in 46 provinces, causing an estimated $A9 million worth of damage, and deluging more than 240 million hectares of farmland.

Ministry of Health officials say 260,000 people are suffering from flood-related diseases.

Thousands have fled their homes and into temporary shelters, and severe flooding remains in 18 provinces, mostly in central and northern Thailand.

In Ayutthaya, 90 kilometres north of Bangkok, flooding has lashed hundreds of ancient temples, while the northern tourist province of Chiang Mai has been worst hit, with seven fatalities and one person missing.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) says heavy rains will continue in northern and central regions until the end of October, before moving south.

-AFP

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1763680.htm