Arakan State alerted to possible flooding

By DMG 09 Aug 2022

DMG Newsroom
9 August 2022, Sittwe 

Scattered rain is expected in Arakan State due to a low pressure system over the Bay of Bengal, with a chance of occasional squalls accompanied by high tide along the Arakan coast, the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology said at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. 

The weather report said Arakan State should expect accompanying rough seas along and off the coast. Surface wind speeds may reach 40 miles per hour during squalls, with tides reaching 9 to 13 feet high, said the report. 

As some townships in Arakan State could suffer from flooding, and district administrators have been instructed to make preparations, said the spokesman for the Arakan State administration council, U Hla Thein. 

“We have alerted the administrators of concerned districts about the possible flooding. It is normal at this time of the year,” he said. 

Residents of Thandwe, Taungup, Mrauk-U and Minbya townships must take extra caution as those townships are prone to flooding, U Hla Thein added. 

Information officer U Shwe Than Kyaw of the Mrauk-U Youth Association said the regime should find safe places and prepare food supplies for internally displaced people (IDPs), who are most likely to be affected by both annual flooding and one-off weather events. 

“If authorities expect floods, they should find safe places for the IDPs to evacuate, and they must also store food supplies. Nongovernmental organisations and civil society organisations can’t reach flood-hit victims immediately. So, they must store up food supplies including drinking water for them,” he said. 

Heavy rains are expected in Arakan State over the next two days, and the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology has alerted fishing vessels and ships along and off the coast of Myanmar to operate accordingly.