Cyclone Yagi leaves at least 74 dead in Myanmar after floods, landslides

CNN
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At least 74 people have been killed and dozens are still missing in Myanmar after severe flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Yagi, state media reported on Sunday.

Floods across the civil war-torn country have affected more than 450 villages and townships, Myanmar’s state news agency reported.

She added that search and rescue operations are underway to locate 89 people who are still missing. The Middle East News Agency reported that about 65,000 homes were also destroyed.

Images published by AFP showed submerged homes and vehicles in the city of Taungoo, an hour south of the capital Naypyidaw. Other images showed residents evacuating their homes on boats and bamboo rafts, their belongings wrapped in plastic bags.

Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, has left a trail of destruction across Southeast Asia and southern China after battering the region with heavy rains and strong winds.

The death toll in Vietnam from a storm, landslides and flash floods has risen to at least 226, the government disaster agency said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

In Thailand, nine people died last week due to bad weather caused by the cyclone, Reuters reported, citing the Thai government, out of a total of 33 deaths nationwide since August due to rain-related incidents including landslides.

Scientists have long warned that storms are becoming more intense and deadly as the oceans warm. While developed nations bear greater historical responsibility for the human-caused climate crisis, developing countries and small island states are suffering the worst effects.