About half of Nyaung Shwe town submerged, emergency rescue and food aid urgently needed

About half of Nyaungshwe town is flooded, with emergency rescue and food assistance urgently needed

November 12

In Nyaungshwe town, southern Shan State, heavy rain and additional flash floods have left about half the town submerged as of today, November 12, with water reaching the upper floors of homes in some wards, forcing residents to evacuate urgently, and rescue and food assistance are needed, according to local residents.

Although water levels had receded somewhat over the past few days, the water began rising again this morning, and since around 7 am, water has entered the main roads, residential wards and shops in the western part of Nyaungshwe's municipal market, it is said.

Currently, water flowing in from the Taung Lay Lone area is converging with flash floodwater from the mountains east of Nyaungshwe town and water flowing from Shwe Nyaung, worsening the flooding inside the town, and the water level has risen to the point where the lake surface near the jetty and the water inside the town are almost level, with the Tint Nan bridge also at risk of being overtopped, it is known.

"Since 1 am I've been moving things in waist-deep water, right up until this morning. By morning I was hungry, and the stove was already underwater so there was nothing to cook with, so I'm just waiting for someone to bring rice packets," a flood-affected local resident said.

Currently, water has reached the upper floors of homes in Win Ward, Myo Lay Ward, Thar Si Ward, Nan Pan Ward and Kan Thar Ward, and many residents in the western part of town have abandoned their homes and moved to monasteries, flood rescue camps and the homes of friends and relatives, it is also known.

Although rescue operations are being carried out to help flood-affected people, there is a shortage of manpower, and in some areas electricity has been cut and phone lines are unreachable, according to those carrying out flood rescue work.

"Compared with the 2024 floods, this time we had about one day of advance preparation time, that's the only difference. The rest of the situation is quite bad. If it keeps raining like this through tonight, there's a situation where it could even exceed the 2024 flood record," a local involved in flood rescue work said.

In addition, as rain continues to fall in the mountainous areas until midday today, more flash floods could occur, and water inside Nyaungshwe town could continue to rise, it is known.

Similarly, flood-affected people in Nyaungshwe town are being forced to leave their homes urgently, and because their stoves are underwater and they cannot cook, they urgently need food, drinking water, rescue boats and manpower, it is also known.

MyoTaw News Channel