Torrential rain causes flooding in Myanmar by Nina Ridge
At least five people have died in Myanmar’s largest city of Yangon yesterday after two days of torrential rain caused led to widespread floods.
The storm brought heavy rains which lashed the city from Thursday evening until the early hours of Saturday morning, flooding streets with up to 900mm of water. Much of the capital was submerged under water on Saturday after receiving the heaviest rainfall seen for forty years, with one northern suburb recording 330mm (13 inches) of rain in just 24 hours,
A tropical depression originating over the Bay of Bengal was responsible for causing the heavy rain. Flooding was exacerbated by the city’s poor drainage system which was unable to carry much of the water away. Rising waters short circuited a fuse in one home, sparking a fire which suffocated four people.
The rain looks set to ease over the coming days as the depression heads northwards towards south-east China, with Met Office officials confident that the storm is unlikely to get any bigger.
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