Death toll in Myanmar floods climbs to 12

Naypyidaw, Aug 1 (IANS) At least 12 people have died and around 148,000 have been displaced in floods in large parts of Myanmar, according to official figures on Wednesday.

Heavy rains have been lashing the country since mid-July, especially the central region of Bago, where 94,000 displaced people sought shelter in 157 centres, Efe news reported.

Other provinces affected were the northern state of Kachin, where over 25,000 people were affected; the southern Mon state with 15,884 people in shelters; and the southern region of Tanintharyi, where another 5,895 were hit.

Over the weekend, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar Knut Ostby expressed concern over the "destruction of property, infrastructure and agricultural land" caused by the floods and offered to "provide support to the ongoing assistance delivered by the Myanmar government".

Myanmar's Meteorological Department warned of more rains in the coming days owing to a depression in the region.

Myanmar saw the worst monsoon flooding in a decade in 2015, when around 100 people lost their lives and another 330,000 were affected.

In 2008, cyclone Nargis passed through the southern part of the country, leaving 138,000 dead, 800,000 homeless and 2.5 million affected.

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