Myanmar: Over 100 dead in floods in Myanmar after Typhoon Yagi

In Kalaw, a mountain town in Shan State, at least 12 people had died by Saturday, one of them eight years old, the private news website Eleven Myanmar reported.

One man told AFP how he tried to rescue people using ropes as four-metre-high floods swept through the city on September 10.

“In the distance I could see trapped families standing on the roofs of their houses,” he said.

“I heard there are 40 bodies in the hospital.”

A woman who runs a company in Kalaw claimed her employees said 60 people had died in the city, AFP reported.

Myanmar has been suffering from a three-year civil war since a military junta seized power in 2021. The UN estimates that the conflict has killed thousands and displaced 2.6 million people.

Shan State is also home to several armed insurgent groups, some of which exercise de facto control over parts of its territory.

Myanmar's Ministry of Information said emergency and health workers had been dispatched to flood-affected areas and funds had been allocated to provide food and drinking water to evacuees.

According to state media reports, rescue workers have also begun repairing damaged roads and bridges.

Scientists say typhoons and hurricanes are becoming stronger and more frequent with climate change. Warmer oceans mean storms absorb more energy, leading to higher wind speeds.

A warmer atmosphere can also hold more moisture, which can lead to heavier rainfall.

Yagi is expected to move away from Myanmar in the next few days. Another tropical depression is expected to develop in the western Pacific Ocean in the coming week.