Receding floodwaters in Myanmar’s Rakhine leave urgent need for drinking water and food

Mizzima Floodwaters began receding on 13 July) across five northern Rakhine State townships after five days of flooding that reached over six feet deep, leaving residents in urgent need of drinking water and food as they clean up thick mud left behind, according to local sources. Continuous rainfall since early July caused the flooding — which local officials had warned could be the region’s worst in 20 years — in Minbya, Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun, and Buthidaung townships. The floods began receding on 12 July. High-ground areas are now completely dry, though some low-lying areas still have about two feet of standing water. Despite the receding waters, silt and mud up to two inches thick left inside homes have made cleanup difficult for residents. “The water was over six feet deep. It receded around 11:00 PM last night (12 July). High-ground areas are completely dry, but low-lying areas still have about two feet of water. We are extremely busy cleaning up the thick mud left inside our homes,” a local Minbya woman told Mizzima. Some homes were damaged in Shwe Kyin, a village of about 400 households near a tributary of the Lay Myo River in Minbya Township, though detailed figures remain unavailable, she said. “The mud left behind is two inches thick. We have been washing it out since the water began to recede, and we haven’t even slept yet,” she added. Flood-hit villages now urgently need drinking water and food. In Maung Hnama village, Mrauk-U Township, saltwater has contaminated both local drinking water ponds, rendering them unusable and leaving residents facing a severe water crisis. Floodwaters have also receded in Kyauktaw Township villages, but there is an urgent need for food and drinking water for children there. Hundreds of villages were submerged in this year’s Rakhine floods, affecting hundreds of thousands of residents, according to local volunteer groups. The post Receding floodwaters in Myanmar’s Rakhine leave urgent need for drinking water and food appeared first on ENG.MIZZIMA.COM.