BANGKOK – The death toll in Myanmar from flooding and landslides caused by Typhoon Yagi has reached at least 74, with 89 people missing, according to Myanmar’s state television on Saturday.
Difficulties in compiling information have raised fears that the number of casualties may be higher.
The new official death toll announced by the country’s military government was more than double the 33 reported on Friday. Typhoon Yagi earlier hit Vietnam, northern Thailand, and Laos, killing more than 260 people and causing major damage.
The new totals were announced after state media reported that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the ruling military council, said that Myanmar was requesting relief aid from foreign countries.
Nearly 240,000 people have been displaced, according to the reports. There were already 3.4 million displaced people in Myanmar at the beginning of September, according to the U.N. refugee agency, mostly because of war and unrest in recent years.
In Myanmar, low-lying areas in the central regions of Mandalay and Bago, as well as eastern Shan state and the country’s capital, Naypyitaw, have been inundated by water since Wednesday.
Min Aung Hlaing and other military officials inspected flooded areas and reviewed rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts in Naypyitaw on Friday, the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper reported. Its report said that he instructed officials to contact foreign countries to receive rescue and relief aid for the victims.
“It is necessary to manage rescue, relief, and rehabilitation measures as quickly as possible,” he was quoted as saying.
The exact extent of the damage still wasn’t clear, but there were fears that the death toll may rise sharply. Local news outlets reported more than 100 people missing.
Efforts to tally casualties and damage and provide relief are complicated due to Myanmar’s ongoing civil war. Extreme weather during the monsoon season is a common occurrence in Myanmar, with the devastating Cyclone Nargis in 2008 resulting in over 138,000 casualties.
Saturday evening’s state television news said that numerous structures were damaged by floods in central and eastern parts of the country, including bridges, school buildings, dams, pagodas, and houses.
Naypyitaw, one of the areas hit hardest by the floods, suffered substantial damage to historic sites. Record rainfall caused walls to collapse at several ancient temples in Bagan, the country’s UNESCO World Heritage site.
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