Almost 1 million affected by Myanmar floods; 99 dead

The official death toll from floods wreaking havoc across Myanmar has passed 100, state media reported Monday, as residents in low-lying regions were warned to brace for more floods and rivers swelled to risky levels. Volunteers on small boats were ferrying noodles, rice and clean water door-to-door.

Flooding and landslides caused by heavy monsoon rains since June were compounded by Cyclone Komen.

Death toll from severe flooding in Myanmar has risen to 96, according to updated figures released by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Sunday.

Global aid is on the way to the hardest-hit areas, the Associated Press reported, as the floodwaters have reached the roofs of some homes. Myanmar’s government and military have won rare praise for their handling of the country’s deadly floods, helping to erase criticism over a previous disaster and possibly bolstering support before a landmark election in November.

A worker unload aid from a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) transport plane carrying donated aid for Myanmar’s flood victims at Yangon worldwide airport in Yangon on August 10, 2015.

It is here – in a desperately poor region known as the Rice Bowl – that several mighty rivers meet before feeding into the sea. The UN has pledged eight million euros.

The catastrophic flooding has inundated more than 1.2 million acres of rice fields, of which more than 439,400 acres of farmland were completely destroyed, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation said, according to GNLM.

The country runs on civilian government, but critics says its not moving quikly to help those people who are in need.

Those unwilling to leave their homes are living in houses inundated with water.

‘We had our own raft, so we sought refuge here, ‘ she said.