Arakanese people suffer from flood, however no aid arrives

Narinjara News
Sittwe, 31 July 2015

Most of the important townships of Arakan State are presently facing heavy flood due to incessant rain for seven days. The situation worsened as the cyclone Komen hit the Arakan coast on 30July 2015. Thousands of Arakanese families are now suffering from the inundation, but no aid is declared from the government and INGOs till date, said U Thein Zan , who is based in Minbya.

“Many villagers have been evacuated from their residences in Kyauk Taw, Ponna Kyaunt, Mrauk U and Minbya Township for relatively safer places like monasteries and school buildings located at highlands. Now the refugees need drinking water, food & medicines, but nothing has been arrived here,” he added.

The villagers residing on the banks of Kaladan & Laymyo rivers under Kyauk Taw, Ponna Kyaunt, Minbya and Pauk Taw townships are mostly affected due to tidy waves. Most of these villages are still under water. Many farmlands of Arakan were also severely affected by the flood water.

“The farmers are supposed to be busy with the cultivation at this moment, but the flood water has damaged all the paddy plants. I guess not less than one lakh acre of paddy field was damaged by the recent wave of flood. Most of the farmers don’t have seeds to grow again and money to buy the paddy plants for re-cultivation,” asserted U Sein Hla Tun, a farmer from Kyau Taw.

In Mrauk U Township many villages are still facing inflated flood water and thousands left their residences for nearby safer places.

“The downtown areas of Mrauk U are under flood water leaving few ancient highland locations. The water level has gone up to 7 feet on the main road in some locations,” informed U Kyaw Hlaing, an engineer based in Mrauk U township.

Narinjara correspondents in Sittwe reported that the rain water continue to be stagnant in many areas of the State affecting the daily life of the citizens. The schools, offices, health centers including hospitals, markets, government institutions of Arakan remain closed since the last wave of flood began.

U Tin Maung Swe, a senior administrator of Arakan State admitted that over 10000 people from 8 townships were evacuated for safer places.

He also informed that 500 sacks of rice would be sent to each affected township for the benefit of villagers very soon. He however asserted that the authority was preparing to send relief materials to the affected localities urgently, but the weather and bad transportation were hindering the process.

___Narinjara