Floods caused by Typhoon Yagi in Burma have already left more than 70 dead and almost 90 missing

September 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Floods caused by Typhoon Yagi in Burma have left 74 dead and 89 people missing amid calls by the military junta to the international community to send aid to the Asian country.

Floods have affected 462 villages and districts in 64 townships in the Naypyidaw area, Bago, Mandalay and Ayeyawady regions, as well as Mon, Kayin and Shan states (south and east), The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.

Search and rescue operations are continuing, so the death toll could rise. The floods, which have forced the evacuation of the affected population, have left bridges, roads and schools inundated and more than 65,700 homes destroyed.

The head of the military junta that has ruled Myanmar since the 2021 coup, General Min Aung Hlaing, has ordered senior Myanmar officials to “contact relevant foreign countries to request assistance for the victims.”

The disaster has further exacerbated the country’s already dire crisis since the coup against the elected government of former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The surge in violence has forced more than 2.7 million people to flee their homes.

Yagi, which also caused severe damage in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and the Philippines, has claimed more than 260 lives in the five countries. Vietnamese authorities have warned that this is the worst storm recorded in almost three decades.