YANGON: The death toll from floods following Typhoon Yagi has doubled to 226 in Myanmar, state media reported.
Confirming that the death toll had doubled from the previous 113 deaths, state television revealed on Monday that 77 people were still missing after the storm caused floods that destroyed rice paddies and other crops that spread across 640,000 hectares.
Yagi swept across northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar more than a week ago with strong winds and heavy rain, causing floods and landslides that have killed more than 500 people, according to official figures.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported that around 631,000 people have been affected by the floods in Myanmar.
Food, drinking water, shelter and clothing are urgently needed, UNOCHA said, warning that blocked roads and damaged bridges were severely hampering relief efforts.
Poor communication, particularly with remote areas, also results in delays in getting information about victims.
More than 150,000 homes were flooded Global New Light of Myanmar reported, and the junta has opened more than 400 relief camps.
The UN World Food Program said on Monday that the floods were the worst in Myanmar’s recent history, without giving specific details.
Severe flooding hit the country in 2011 and 2015, with more than 100 deaths reported on both occasions, while in 2008 Cyclone Nargis left over 138,000 dead or missing.
The junta made a rare appeal for foreign aid over the weekend, while UNOCHA said more resources were urgently needed.
In recent years Myanmar’s military has blocked or thwarted humanitarian aid from abroad, including after powerful cyclone Mocha last year, when it suspended travel permits for aid groups trying to reach about a million people.
Even before the latest floods, people in Myanmar were dealing with the effects of a three-year war between the junta and armed groups opposed to its rule, with millions forced from their homes by the conflict.
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