Floodwaters recede in three Arakan State townships

By Admin 04 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
4 August 2024, Kyauktaw

Floodwaters receded on Sunday after heavy rains and high tides inundated hundreds of villages in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Minbya townships.

From August 1-3, many villagers in the affected townships were forced to move to higher ground, and flood victims say they remain in need of drinking water, food and healthcare despite the receding waters.

“The water has receded, but we still have trouble cooking. Cooking utensils also floated away in the water. The rice also got wet with the rain. We currently need rice to cook and eat,” said a local woman in Mrauk-U Township.

Farmers in the flood zone expect it will be difficult if not impossible to recover from crop losses given the soaring costs of doing business, which were already weighing heavily on their bottom lines prior to the flooding.

“We grew paddy at the [increased] cost of agricultural inputs such as fertiliser and fuel. Now that all the paddy fields have been flooded, we can’t afford to replant them,” said a farmer from Thayettapin Village in Kyauktaw Township.

Homes, shops, wells, ponds, farmlands, and rice barns were inundated by the floodwaters, with the extent of the damage yet to be fully known.

The Arakkha Army (AA) said it has evacuated flood victims to safety, provided them with food items and carried out search and rescue operations.