(Interview) – Incessant heavy rain has caused flooding in villages in Mrauk Township. Mrauk-U has broken a 33-year record with 9.27 inches of rain, the state-run New Light of Myanmar reported on Wednesday. Mizzima interviewed local resident Aye Kyaw Than about the flooding.
Q: How bad is the flooding now?
A: It is a very severe flood. Mrauk-U city and the Mrauk-U – Kyauktaw highway are flooded. The floodwater is about waist deep in front of the Township Administrative Office. All the roads in the city are flooded.
Q: When did the flood start?
A: It’s been 2-3 days. It started on Tuesday after incessant heavy rain. The water level is rising gradually now.
Q: Which locations are flooded?
A: The water level is getting higher as we speak. Many villages are flooded. They are Ohn Ta Bing Su and Kyet Shar Kyun. Let Kauk market has been flooded. The floodwater is almost waist deep on streets leading to Mingla Manaung pagoda. The villages around Htoke Kathein are flooded too. The lakes and ponds in the villages are flooded. Still the villages around the city have been flooded. We cannot go to Ywa Haung Taw village because all the roads have been flooded. Ywa Haung Taw means all the areas from Si Taung to Kothaung pagoda.
Q: How many villages are flooded?
A: The villages around the city limit which have been flooded are Kyaung Shar Thee new village, half the village in Gya Gyi, Let Kauk market, Ohn Ta Bin, Ohn Taw dried fish market, Bandoola ward, Ohn Taw, Middle market, the areas along the bank of the creek. The worst affected villages are Kyaung Shar Thee new village and Ohn Ta Bin village.
Q: How many houses are flooded in these villages? How many people are affected?
A: I cannot give exact figures but the estimate is about up to 6,000 houses. I cannot estimate the affected population. In these villages, each household has at least 3-4 family members.
Q: How about the situation of the flood victims?
A: The flood victims are now living at the nearby schools built on higher ground. They have to manage their meals themselves. The odd job workers such as firewood cutters cannot go to their work now. The farmers cannot go to their paddy fields. Cars cannot run on the roads with waist-deep floodwater. So the floodwater stalls all the work here. All the kitchen vegetable gardens and orchards situated along the bank of Laymyo creek are flooded and all of them have been damaged. Cucumber, beans and all the fruit orchards have been damaged by floodwater. After two days of flood, all the cucumber fields have been totally damaged.
Q: Are these floods victims receiving relief supplies?
A: They are not yet receiving any relief supplies from anyone else. If the heavy rain continues for a few more days, the health and livelihood of these flood victims will suffer. Even after the floodwater recedes, they have to clean up their houses filled with mud and debris. If the government does not provide any relief operations for them, the local people must do something for these victims. We must collect donations for them. We must work together with social organizations in the city to arrange something for them.
Blocking and choking of drainage in the city caused the flood in the city after the heavy rainfall. All the drainage systems in Mrauk-U have been choked because more houses were built on low land. So all the old drainages have been choked. Torrential water in the valley is heavy. It is not like in the past. The drainage and creeks are getting narrower and some of them are choked. So the heavy rain causes flooding in the town.
Q: Can you expect the water to recede soon?
A: Not yet. The heavy rain has not yet stopped. The water level in Let Say Kan pond has reached about 3 feet above the normal level. We might need to let the water gush out from the pond.
Q: Did you have similar experience of severe flood before?
A: About 10 years back, all of Mrauk-U city was flooded by Laymyo creek. Only the area around Htoke Kathein pagoda was dry, it looked like an island at that time. In the past, only when the Laymyo creek was flooded and overflowed, was Mrauk-U city inundated. Now even before the overflow of Laymyo creek over the bank, our city and the surrounding area are flooded by rainwater alone. If the heavy rain continues a few more days, Lyamyo creek will overflow and our entire city will certainly be inundated. The ancient Rakhine kings built a systematic drainage system in the city. Now the drainage has been choked after many houses were built on low land. So we are facing more flooding now. If we can restore the previous drainage system in the city by re-digging and reopening the choked lines to the creek, our city will not be flooded again.
