RANGOON, Myanmar, Aug. 2 (UPI) — Massive flooding and landslides in eastern India and western Myanmar have killed scores of people, according to reports.
The government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, declared four western regions of the country disaster zones due to monsoon rain floods that have killed at least 27 people, the BBC reports.
The United Nations has warned that casualties are likely to increase since rescue teams have yet to reach some of the worst-hit areas. The city of Kalay, with a population of about 400,000, is only accessible by air, while landslides in Chin state destroyed at least 100 houses and blocked roads into the town of Haka, with a population of 40,000.
Camps housing 100,000 Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state have also reportedly suffered damage, and at least one report suggests the minority Muslims have been turned away from shelters, including Buddhist monasteries, where thousands of people have flocked.
U Win Myo Thu, director of EcoDev, an environmental organization in Myanmar, told The New York Times that “heavy rain, mismanagement of irrigation projects and dramatic deforestation” were the main causes of the flooding, which has gone on for weeks.
Meanwhile, a landslide in neighboring India on Saturday buried a village in the Chandel district of Manipur state, which borders Myanmar, killing at least 21 people.
Xinhua news agency reports at least 39 people have died due to massive flooding in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. Officials in the state said 1.8 million people have been marooned after heavy rains began Friday, affecting about 13 districts, mostly in the southern portion of the state.
Torrential rains and subsequent landslides likewise killed at least 36 people in Nepal and 17 people in Vietnam, which is experiencing the worst flooding in 40 years.
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