YANGON: Tens of thousands of people huddled on Wednesday in monasteries and other makeshift evacuation centres in remote areas of Myanmar cut off by deadly floods, as rescuers struggled to deliver desperately needed aid.

Heavy monsoon downpours have caused devastation across large parts of South and Southeast Asia in recent weeks, claiming hundreds of lives and displacing millions.

In Myanmar, international aid efforts accelerated Wednesday following a government appeal for help.

The impoverished nation has seen resources severely stretched by the crisis, which has spread across 12 of its 14 states and regions.

Tens of thousands of people remain stranded in rugged and mountainous regions after relentless rains caused flash floods and triggered landslides sweeping away homes, roads and bridges.

Floods have now begun to flow southwards, inundating some areas around the Irrawaddy river with roof-high waters, according to a photographer.

The official death toll stands at 69 with more than 260,000 affected, although this is expected to rise.

The floods severed communications across large areas of the country, which is roughly the size of France.

But information has now started to filter back from remote regions pointing to the scale of the disaster.The hilltop Chin state capital of Hakha, home to about 40,000 people, is still only accessible by helicopter a week after a series of landslides saw walls of saturated earth collapse onto homes and roads.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2015

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