There have been 280 deaths total throughout the four nations, including 233 in Vietnam and 36 in Myanmar, but there are still a lot of unaccounted-for deaths, so the number is certain to go up.
As Vietnam started cleaning up after Typhoon Yagi, hundreds of peasants in Myanmar were forced to escape catastrophic floods near the isolated capital Naypyidaw by wading or swimming through chin-high waters.
Typhoon Yagi caused a massive flood and landslide as it made landfall in the region last weekend, affecting large areas of northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar.
The revised death toll, which is higher than 17, was confirmed by Myanmar’s national fire department on Friday. More than 50,000 people have also been forced to flee their homes.
“We strolled through water up to our necks this morning,” a woman at Sin Thay village said to AFP.
“We are quite thirsty and hungry. We have not had any food for around three days.”
In the intricate system of rivers and creeks encircling the low-rise, spreading metropolis, soldiers saved the villagers who had been inundated; some of them had to wade through deep, murky brown waters.
Submerged were surrounding sugarcane and banana farms, as well as residential areas.
Another man, standing close to the village where people had congregated by a tiny bridge, remarked, “This is the first time I have experienced such a flood.”
“We were unable to get ready in time. It was a really terrifying encounter.”
According to state media, flooding in the vicinity of the capital has wrecked residences, buildings, highways, bridges, and electrical towers, as well as causing landslides.
In video shared on social media, a group of locals in the Mandalay region rode elephants to reach dry land.
Hanoi cleanup
After the waters that had flooded portions of the city retreated and the sun appeared for the first time in days, citizens of the capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi, gathered with shovels, brushes, and hoses to clear mud and debris from the streets.
Earlier this week, as Yagi’s rains funneled out towards the sea, the Red River through Hanoi reached its greatest level in twenty years.
Nguyen Lan Huong, 40, told AFP, “This was the highest flooding I’ve ever seen; it was more than a meter on our first floor.”
“We started cleaning up little by little yesterday afternoon as the water began to recede. However, I believe it will take weeks for the local community to heal and days for our family.”
Since Yagi struck on Saturday, 130,000 people have been evacuated from northern Vietnam; many of them are still unable to return home. In addition, the authorities report that over 135,000 homes have sustained damage.
In the bloodiest single event, 48 people were killed when a landslide in the hilly region of Lao Cai destroyed a community.
Eight persons who were thought to be dead and missing in the landslide have, however, returned safely. While some were staying with relatives, others were able to flee before they were discovered.
There were severe floods in northern Thailand as well; a district near the Myanmar border reported the worst floods in eight decades.
Officials said on Friday that the number of fatalities in the kingdom had reached ten due to a landslide in Chiang Rai province.
Airlines had stopped flights to Chiang Rai airport, but on Friday they were back in operation.
