Severe flooding ruins harvest
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FLOODS have damaged more than 125,452 hectares in Myanmar, including 9,752 hectares of cultivated land, since June, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation said.
Sagaing Region was hardest hit with around 44,515 hectares submerged, while Bago and Ayeyawady regions saw 28,894 hectares and 21,448 hectares flooded, respectively.
A total of 9,742 hectares of arable land across the country has been destroyed, including 7,405 hectares in Sagaing Region, 1,416 in Kachin State, 582 in Rakhine State and 303 in Bago Region.
Likewise, two months of torrential rain have damaged over 25,616 hectares of farmland, including 20,153 in Sagaing and 3,358 in Kachin, according to the ministry.
The ministry has been advising farmers to take precautionary measures since the first week of July. Some dams and reservoirs are also overflowing.
Record rainfall has caused flooding and landslides in Chin State and upper Sagaing Region, with fears that a cyclone may cause more damage.
In Chin State, Hakha and Tiddim have experienced landslides, with roads being blocked. Communications in the state have also been cut after roads were washed away and bridges were broken. Four houses were destroyed in a landslide.
“The 12 residents in the four houses have been badly affected. We are also have a list of villages that have been hit with landslides,” said Ko Twam from Chinaland Natural Resources Watch Group.
