Search-and-rescue operations continued Monday in the Tanintharyi Region capital Dawei Township after at least 13 residents were killed by flooding and landslides Sept. 24-27.
A local resistance group called the Tavoyan National Federation, which was formed on March 10, stated that at least 30 people have been reported missing and 50 homes were destroyed by landslides in 40 villages around Dawei and that telecommunications are unavailable.
Another local rescue group announced that it had recovered three bodies and rescued over 10 injured residents since Sept. 24. Nearly 400 residents displaced from their homes due to the floods and landslides are now staying at temporary shelters in Launglon Township’s Aukyaehpyu village. Launglon is located 12 miles (19 km) south of Dawei.
Regime media reported that 8,431 Launglon residents were rescued from four urban wards. Flooding was also reported in Palaw and Thayetchaung townships but no casualties have been reported. Thayetchaung and Palaw are located 18-98 miles (29-157 km) south of Dawei.
The regime’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology reported on Sept. 28 that heavy rain is forecast along the Tanintharyi coast for the next 24 hours as a “well-marked low-pressure area” remains over the northern Andaman Sea and the adjoining Mon-Tanintharyi coast.
The inundation marks the third major flood to hit Tanintharyi Region in a month. Over 2,000 residents of Tanintharyi Township were forced to evacuate after the Tanintharyi River breached its 24-foot (7.3-meter) danger threshold on Aug. 27. Tanintharyi is located 188 miles (302 km) south of Dawei.
At least 32 people have been killed in flooding that had affected 610,000 people across 25 townships in Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, and Ayeyarwady regions, as well as Karen State, according to a National Unity Government (NUG) report released on Aug. 22.
