Tropical depression does damage as it makes landfall in Ayeyarwady Region

By DMG 22 Mar 2022

DMG Newsroom
22 March 2022, Sittwe

A deep depression in the southeastern Bay of Bengal made landfall in Ayeyarwady Region on Tuesday morning, destroying homes and damaging pagodas in some townships, according to locals.

A rescue worker from the Ahmar Social Organization told DMG that homes were knocked down in Khattar and Shwe Htee villages near Ahmar town, with victims of the storm seeking refuge at cyclone shelters.

“As of this afternoon, six homes had collapsed due to strong winds, forcing some residents to evacuate to cyclone shelters. So far, strong winds have been blowing and it is raining,” the rescue worker added.

Floodwaters were rising in Labutta Township and some ports were submerged. Nearly 200 people from nearby villages are currently taking refuge at Koe Na Win Monastery, according to the Hna Lone Hla social organisation, a local healthcare group in Labutta Township.

At least 29 homes were destroyed by strong winds in two seashore villages of Dedaye Township, but no one had yet been reported injured, said a resident of Toe village, who counted his house among those ruined.

In addition, a pagoda inside the Dhamma Thukha Monastery in Hlaing Phone village, Mawlamyinegyun Township, was toppled, and some homes in Ngwe Zin Yaw village collapsed, according to locals.

The deep depression is predicted to weaken as it makes its way through Hainggyi Island, Pathein and Ngayokekaung Island in Ayeyarwady Region before moving up the coast into Arakan State.

The storm system is expected to bring strong winds and thundershowers in Ayeyarwady, Bago, Yangon, Magway, Sagaing and Tanintharyi regions, and Mon and Arakan states, with gusts of up to 45 mph, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH). The depression has not, however, strengthened into a cyclone as many forecasters had predicted.