Some 25,000 flee to relief camps following Myanmar flooding

Heavy flooding in eastern Myanmar has forced some 25,000 people to take refuge in relief camps.(file photo)

July 31, 2013

Heavy flooding in eastern Myanmar has forced some 25,000 people to take refuge in relief camps, officials say.

Monday torrential rain, which led to serious flooding in Karen State, has driven thousands out of their homes, forcing them into around 80 relief camps, the director of the social welfare, relief and resettlement department, Chum Hre, told AFP on Wednesday.

"Altogether 24,499 flood victims have been evacuated in Karen State," Chum Hre said, adding that about hundred others have been evacuated in Mon and Rakhine.

He further added that helicopters have been sent to the same areas, though "It is very difficult to reach some of the disaster-hit places because of the bad weather and landslides."

Some areas across the border with Thailand have also been swamped with water due to the heavy rains.

Thailand’s interior ministry announced on Wednesday that seven provinces in Thailand is still inundated, adding three people have died since July 29.

According to the officials, floodwaters have receded in the central part of Thailand’s western Mae Sot city, which borders Myanmar’s disaster-hit area, and “the situation has returned to normal.”

Some areas in Myanmar and Thailand are hit by annual, torrential monsoon rains, which start in April and end in October.

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