Maungdaw – Power cables have fallen and some low-lying areas of Maungdaw, Rakhine State, have been submerged since Cyclone Komen hit Myanmar.

“Temporary relief camps have opened in monasteries and Arabic schools in Maungdaw. More than 400 people are staying there now. People are coming all the time. Roofs of some houses are damaged but there was no serious damage,” said Hla Myint, Maungdaw township administrator.

A tidal surge forced water three feet above the normal and almost all of the houses in Bomu Ywar, Ywar Thit and Aungmyay Bawdi wards were submerged. Villagers and hospital patients were evacuated to Maungdaw Myoma monastery, the central monastery and the town’s No.1 Basic Education High School. 

“The patients have to be transferred to the schools as the hospitals are inundated. The current flood is the worst since 1994,” a nurse from Maungdaw hospital said.

An official from the Maungdaw border trade office said: “The tide toppled the trees in front of our office on July 30. It rose a foot above the normal level. It did not last for long before the water receded. There have many trees toppled in the town.” 

Sein Hla Phyu from Maungdaw social network said: “The roof of my home is damaged and so are many other roofs in the village. The electricity is out as the power cables have fallen. My mobile phone’s battery is dead. I don’t know what happened outside of the town.” 

Buthidaung saw a tidal surge on July 29 and contact with outlying villages have not been re-established.

Tidal water reached six foot and roofs were blown off by the storm. More than 900 people are taking shelters at seven relief camps in the town. 

The patients from Buthidaung hospital were transferred to No.3 Basic Education Middle School. 

A Buthidaung police officer: “All the town’s trees have fallen down. More than 900 people are taking shelters at seven relief camps. Some are taking shelters at their relatives’ houses. The phone connection returned today. We are still making enquiries about the scale of destruction.”

http://elevenmyanmar.com/local/over-1000-flood-victims-maungdaw-camps