Though most of the important townships of Arakan State have suffered severe flooding because of non stop rain in the last seven days no aid has yet been sent to the area.
The situation worsened as Cyclone Komen hit the Arakan coast on 30 July 2015. Thousands of Arakanese families are now suffering because of flooding, but until now neither the government nor any international nongovernmental organisations (INGOs) have pledged to send aid to the area, said U Thein Zan , who is based in Minbya.
He also said: “Many villagers have been evacuated from their residences in Kyauk Taw, Ponna Kyaunt, Mrauk U and Minbya Township to relatively safer places like monasteries and school buildings located on higher ground. Now the refugees need drinking water, food & medicines, but nothing has arrived here.”
The villages on the banks of the Kaladan & Laymyo Rivers in Kyauk Taw, Ponna Kyaunt, Minbya and Pauk Taw townships were the most affected areas. Many of these villages are still under water.
Much farmland in Arakan State was also affected by the flooding. U Sein Hla Tun, a farmer from Kyau Taw said: "The farmers are supposed to be busy with cultivation at this moment, but the flood water has damaged all the paddy plants. I guess not less than one lakh acres [100,000 acres] of paddy field was damaged by the recent wave of flooding. Most of the farmers don’t have seeds to grow again or money to buy the paddy plants for re-cultivation."
In Mrauk U Township many villages are still facing flooding and raised water levels, thousands have left their homes for safer places nearby.
Kyaw Hlaing, an engineer based in Mrauk U township said: “The downtown areas of Mrauk U are under flood water leaving a few ancient highland locations. The water level has gone up to 7 feet on the main road in some locations."
Narinjara correspondents in Sittwe reported that there is still standing water in many areas of the State, which is affecting the daily life of the citizens. Schools, offices, health centres, hospitals, markets and government institutions in Arakan State have remained closed since the last wave of flooding began.
U Tin Maung Swe, a senior administrator of Arakan State said that over 10000 people from eight townships have been evacuated to safer places.
He also said that very soon 500 sacks of rice would be sent to each affected township to help the villagers affected by flooding. He said that the authorities were preparing to urgently send relief materials to the affected areas, but that the weather and bad transportation were hindering the process.
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
