Damage multiplies in monsoon-soaked, cyclone-smashed Myanmar

Monsoon floods are surging through Myanmar, also known as Burma, triggering some of the worst flash floods and landslides in the nation’s recent history. All but two of the country’s 14 states have been affected by the flooding, which began in late June and was compounded by a typhoon last week. Relentless rainfall in central and northern regions has swept away thousands of homes, forcing villagers to relocate to temporary shelters. In some places, only rooftops are visible above the swollen waters. As of Sunday, the death toll climbed to 99, with more than 1 million people displaced by the epic deluge.

“In the four worst affected states and regions, Chin, Magway, Sagaing, and Rakhine, flooding has hit those who were already among the most vulnerable in the country,” Myanmar’s acting UNICEF representative, Shalini Bahuguna, noted in a recent report.

One-third of the people affected by the flooding are concentrated in Myanmar’s low-lying Irrawaddy Delta, according to Phyi Lei Lei Tun, national director of social welfare, relief, and resettlement. The delta, also known as the Rice Bowl, is the nation’s main rice-growing region, and its poverty-stricken inhabitants are still recovering from a typhoon in 2008 that swamped thousands of rice paddies and claimed 140,000 lives. The latest floods likely will disrupt planting season and the long-term security of the nation’s food supply.

Also among Myanmar’s disaster zones is coastal Rakhine state, home to more than 130,000 minority Rohingya Muslims already displaced by ethnic and religious conflict. The Rohingya camps are poorly constructed, heightening their vulnerability in monsoon season. A recent Burma Times article claims most Rohingya affected by the floods have gotten little aid and are denied both hospital treatment and shelter.

Buddhism is Myanmar’s majority religion, practiced by at least eight out of 10 citizens, while Muslims make up just 10 percent of the nation’s 50 million inhabitants.

Last week, Myanmar’s government made appeals for help, prompting a pledge from the United Nations of $9 million.

“We’re very concerned about secondary flooding that is likely going to happen in the delta region [as more water flows downstream],” Pierre Peron, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told Reuters.

Some accuse Myanmar of reacting too slowly to the crisis. But the country’s appeals for international aid stand in sharp contrast to the government’s response following Cyclone Nargis in 2008, when the nation’s ruling military junta refused international aid and largely downplayed the destruction.

International aid is trickling into Myanmar, but most relief efforts so far are pioneered by non-governmental organizations and private citizens ferrying rice, noodles, and clean water door-to-door. Most of Myanmar’s rivers are clogged with debris, and roads are mangled by landslides, making access to flood victims both challenging and risky.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.