Floodwaters swept away approximately 30 houses and caused significant damage to nearly 1,000 acres of sesame fields in three Shartaw Township villages in Karenni State, on 12 September 2024.

Many houses in the villages of Ponchaung, Suphelaw, and Nawpalu were submerged by flood waters which also swept away approximately 30 houses.

Of those, 18 houses were swept away in Ponchaung Village and a further 12 were swept away in Suphelaw Village. The extent of the damage in Nawpalu Village is still not known as it remains inaccessible, according to a villager from Ponchaung Village.

Though the floodwaters began to recede on 14 September Nawpalu Village is still inaccessible due to large amounts of debris and water still left.

Talking of the 1,000 acres of ruined sesame fields a villager said: “207 acres in Ponchaug Village and 691 acres in Suphelaw Village were destroyed. The extent of damage to sesame fields in Nawpalu and Thaylae villages is still unknown. I went a few days ago to those villages, but I still couldn't get through by car. There is also significant damage to the sesame fields in that area.”

He said that people who have lost their houses are in urgent need of assistance and that those whose houses were flooded have begun clearing them up, though they have not yet returned to live in them.

He added: “The displaced people [IDPs] need necessities like  rice, oil, and salt, they are also in urgent need of tarpaulins. There are IDPs in Ponchaung Village. Some villagers have lost both their temporary IDP shelters and their homes in the floodwaters. The makeshift school that had been set up was also swept away by the floodwaters.”

During the second week of September persistent rainfall caused the Ponchaung River to overflow which damaged the homes, sesame fields and the Ponchaung Bridge, a crucial transport route for locals.