An embankment along the Ngawun River near Htain Ngu village in Ayeyarwady Region’s Laymyethna Township began sinking on Thursday, raising fears of another breach as hundreds of thousands of residents remain affected by flooding that began after the collapse of an embankment on the same river on July 31.
“The first embankment still hasn’t been fully repaired, and now we’re worried that another one could breach. We need more machinery and people to work on it,” a Laymyethna resident of Htain Ngu village told DVB. Aid workers are currently attempting to reinforce the embankment with sandbags.
Flooding caused by the July 31 embankment collapse on the Ngawun River affected more than 150,000 residents across 10 townships in Ayeyarwady. Besides Laymyethna, Yegyi and Ngathaingchaung townships were also impacted. At least two people have been killed with livestock, rice fields and other crops also damaged, though the full extent of the losses remains unknown.
Four of the 39 basic education schools have reopened in Laymyethna after being closed due to flooding since August, with water levels in some areas receding only slightly since then. “Some areas have seen the water recede,” a relief worker in Laymyethna told DVB.
Many children lost books, stationery, clothing and other school supplies in the flooding, which makes it difficult for students to return after they reopened, according to residents.
In Ayeyarwady, the WFP said the service covers the three flood-ravaged towns. The service is intended to support the delivery of food, medical supplies, water and sanitation materials, as well as emergency shelter assistance.
Laymyethna residents told DVB that they have not received “adequate assistance” from the regime authorities at the state or national level.
On Aug. 8, regime leader Min Aung Hlaing announced that more than 23 billion Myanmar kyats ($5.3 million USD) collected from business owners had been allocated for flood relief efforts across affected regions.
The civilian National Unity Government (NUG) stated in August that it had allocated 100 million kyats ($22,700 USD) for emergency rescue and relief efforts in flood-affected areas across the country.
The WFP’s service also covers flood-affected areas of Sagaing, where the NUG reported that 23 have been killed in 11 townships following last month’s floods with over 441,000 people across Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay and Ayeyarwady regions impacted.
