Flooding hits residential areas in Thandwe and Taungup

By DMG 16 Jun 2021

DMG Newsroom
16 June 2021, Thandwe

Due to heavy rains in recent days, some areas in Arakan State’s Thandwe and Taungup townships have faced flooding, according to locals.

Continuous heavy rains in these townships since June 6 have caused flooding in some downtown wards and peri-urban areas including at Thandwe Airport, said Ko Sein Chit, a local resident from Antaw ward.

“The basement of my house flooded, but there was no damage to my house. It is not as flooded as it used to be. The current flooding is due to the lack of drainage,” he told DMG.

Thandwe locals said this month’s inundation was notable because there had been no flooding in the township’s residential areas for four years.

Downtown Taungup wards such as Theintaung, Kampein, Keinshay and Sayyone, meanwhile, were reportedly submerged due to drainage blockages.

“Floods are not a cause for concern. Most of the flooding was caused by blocked drains due to lack of access to water [during the dry season]. The township development committee does not seem to be doing anything about it,” said Ko Nay Lin Aung, a resident of Theintaung ward.

Residents of the town want the floodwaters to recede as soon as possible, as more houses are likely to be inundated if the rains continue; a likely prospect as Myanmar is in the midst of its annual monsoon season.