RELIEF EFFORTS HAMPERED
Years of conflict and natural disasters have left many communities in Myanmar accustomed to repeated crises.
But the latest flooding has brought new challenges for residents and those trying to help them.
“We are really hurting inside. As for livestock, some are dying due to the weather. Cattle and buffaloes are now living out in the rain and hot sun,” said one farmer.
“The whole village is facing difficulties. When rescuers and donors arrived, we felt joy in our hearts.”
Government security forces have declared the entrance to the flood zone hazardous, restricting access for private rescue groups arriving from other parts of the country.
Instead, the groups have had to set up a base at a nearby monastery before travelling into affected villages to distribute supplies.
Even then, some communities in Lemyethna township remain difficult to reach, despite an urgent need for food and other essentials.
The township is also sheltering hundreds of internally displaced people who had earlier fled fighting that spread from Rakhine State into Ayeyarwady.
“I have no words to describe the hardship I’m going through,” one internally displaced person said.
“Whatever little we could bring with us while fleeing the war, we brought along. But now everything is submerged in the flood.”
Read the full article here
