At least 19 people were killed in Myanmar after heavy rains triggered floods in and around the war-torn country's capital city, with rescuers moving some of the 3,600 people displaced to safer areas on boats, according to the national fire service, Reuters reports.
Schools in flood-affected areas in Naypyidaw are closed, and residents have been warned of rising floodwater levels, junta-controlled broadcaster MRTV reported on Friday (September 13).
About 162 sq km (24 sq mi) of area around the capital Naypyitaw was flooded on Thursday, according to satellite imagery analysis by the U.N.-backed Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU). Another 366 sq km (141 sq mi) around Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, also appeared to be under water, according to the analysis.
About a third of Myanmar's 55 million people require humanitarian assistance but many aid agencies, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, cannot operate in many areas because of access restrictions and security risks.
An armed rebellion, comprising of new resistance groups and established ethnic minority armies, is challenging the well-armed military, amid a crippling economic crisis that could be exacerbated by the floods.
Adverse weather brought on by Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, has killed more than 230 people in Vietnam and Thailand, and flood waters from swollen rivers have inundated cities in both countries.
