The toll from a landslide that struck Myanmar last week rose to 59 on Monday, AFP reported. The landslide, triggered by monsoon rains, struck a village in eastern Myanmar on Friday and buried more than a dozen houses. It also forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
“Another dead body was found at 16:27, bringing the death toll to 59,” the fire service posted on Monday afternoon on Facebook, and said that search operations were still under way. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there are currently more than 80,000 people taking shelter at evacuation sites across the country.
The rescue and recovery operations which continued over the weekend were hindered by continuous rainfall and deep mud.
In the town of Ye in Mon state, people struggled to stay afloat and others fled to rooftops or to higher ground with the help of rescue boats. Vice President Henry Van Thio visited Mon and pledged more boats for flood relief efforts.
Among the worst affected regions were Bago, Tanintharyi, and Karen states.
A deluge of mud had descended on Thae Pyar Kone village in Mon state on Friday, and washed out homes and a monastery.
Torrential rainfall burst riverbanks across the country and submerged entire communities.
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