Myanmar Floods Kill 19, Displace Thousands

At least 19 people were killed in Myanmar after heavy rains triggered floods in and around the war-torn country's capital city, with rescuers moving some of the 3,600 people displaced to safer areas on boats, according to the national fire service. 

Schools in flood-affected areas in Naypyidaw are closed, and residents have been warned of rising flood water levels, junta-controlled broadcaster reported.

About 162 square km of area around the capital Naypyidaw was flooded, according to satellite imagery analysis by the UN-backed Myanmar Information Management Unit. Another 366 square km around Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, also appeared to be under water, according to the analysis.

About a third of Myanmar's 55 million people require humanitarian assistance but many aid agencies, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, cannot operate in many areas because of access restrictions and security risks.

An armed rebellion, consisting of new resistance groups and established ethnic minority armies, is challenging the well-armed military, amid a crippling economic crisis that could be exacerbated by the floods.

Adverse weather brought on by Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, has killed more than 230 people in Vietnam and Thailand, and flood waters from swollen rivers have inundated cities in both countries.

Some buildings were swamped by flood waters and residents, including women and children, were stranded on rooftops before they were brought down into boats by rescue workers, photographs posted by the department showed.

Another 366 square km around Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, also appeared to be under water, according to the analysis.

"In total, 3,602 flood-affected people from 30 locations were rescued and moved," the fire department said in a Facebook post on its Naypyitaw operations, adding 19 people had been killed.