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HomeIrrawaddy Division4 killed as Cyclone Maarutha hits Irrawaddy Delta

4 killed as Cyclone Maarutha hits Irrawaddy Delta

Four people have been killed and about 60 houses destroyed as storms caused by Cyclone Maarutha wreaked havoc in the Irrawaddy Delta.

Speaking to DVB yesterday, Irrawaddy Division Transportation Minister Win Htay said, “A 50-year-old man was killed when a tree fell on him in Hinthada Township, while a bolt of lightning killed another man in Laputta. Two women were also killed by electrocution in Laputta.”

The minister confirmed that 29 houses in Laputta were destroyed, as were 31 homes in Moulmein, Mon State. Fishing boats were also reported destroyed or missing after storms battered the coastline.

Laputta was the heaviest-hit township when Cyclone Nargis devastated the region in 2008. Tens of thousands were killed in what is considered Burma’s worst ever natural disaster.

The Ministry of Social Welfare, Rescue and Resettlement announced that it would compensate the families of those who were killed by the tropical storm this week.

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Warnings had been sounded in Arakan State where the cyclone made landfall on Sunday night, weakening as it passed littoral areas; however no significant damage or casualties have been reported.

Heavy rain as a result of Maarutha created flash floods in Magwe Division, where at least ten acres of farmland has been deemed devastated.

According to Burmese state media this morning, the Meteorology and Hydrology Department has forecast “heavy isolated rainfall” today in many areas, including Naypyidaw, Mandalay, Magwe and Tenasserim Division, as well as Shan, Karen and Karenni states.

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