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Myanmar hit by deadly floods after Typhoon Yagisevere
Severe flooding has hit Myanmar after Typhoon Yagi, with more than 230,000 people forced to flee their homes, according to officials.
The country’s ruling junta has requested foreign aid to mitigate the impact, the state-run media report. The capital Naypyidaw is among the areas worst hit.
The floods have killed at least 33 people, the country’s military says. State-run daily New Light of Myanmar says some temporary relief camps have been set up for victims made homeless.
Asia’s most powerful storm this year, Typhoon Yagi, has already swept Vietnam, the Chinese island of Hainan and the Philippines.
Reports by Radio Free Asia suggest the death toll is much higher, with the US-backed broadcaster saying at least 160 people were killed in floods and landslides.
A rescue worker in Taungoo told BBC Burmese on Saturday more than 300 people were trapped by flooding on the east bank of the Sittaung river. “There aren’t enough boats to rescue us,” the rescue worker said.
Scientists say typhoons and hurricanes are becoming stronger and more frequent with climate change. Warmer ocean waters mean storms pick up more energy, which leads to higher wind speeds. A warmer atmosphere also holds more moisture, which can lead to more intense rainfall.
Much of Myanmar’s population has been suffering dislocation because of a three-year civil war that has killed thousands and displaced more than 2.6 million people, according to the UN.
According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), some 18.6 million people are now estimated to be in humanitarian need.
In an update on the ongoing humanitarian situation earlier this week, the International Red Cross (ICRC) said many families in Myanmar have limited access to clean water and sanitation, and are going without basic medicines and health care.
“They live with the fear of armed conflict and violence. The disruption of livelihoods is leaving countless people without the means to sustain themselves,” the ICRC’s president, Mirjana Spoljaric, said on Wednesday.
Millions of people are thought to be without electricity across Chile after a large nationwide power outage.
According to the national service for disaster prevention and response (SENAPRED), an area spanning most of the country is impacted, including the capital city, Santiago.
The exact scale of the outage, which began earlier on Tuesday, is not yet known but SENAPRED has said it covers the regions of Arica and Parinacota in the north to Los Lagos in the south.
Reuters news agency has also reported that the world’s largest copper mine, Escondida, is without power, citing a source close to the matter.
LATAM Airlines said that some of its flights may also be disrupted while power supplies were down, and urged passengers to check their journey status.
In a post on X, the Santiago Metro operator said its service had been temporarily suspended due to the ongoing power outage, with stations being evacuated and closed.
Footage from the city showed passengers evacuating stations by walking up switched-off escalators, while traffic signals were also shown not working.
There were also long queues for buses which were still running on the city’s roads.
Maria Angelica Roman, 45, told AFP news agency: “They let us leave work because of the power cut, but now I don’t know how we will get home because all the buses are full.”
Chile’s interior minister, Carolina Toha, also posted on X to say that a meeting would be called to discuss ongoing measures to restore services.
SENAPRED added that electricity companies across the impacted area were investigating the fault and attempting to restart services, and no emergency situations had been reported.
[BBC]
President Anura Kumara Disanayake met with Ms. Severine Chappaz, the newly appointed Head of Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on Tuesday (25) at the Presidential Secretariat.
Discussions focused on the ICRC’s support for the new government’s policy framework. As part of this collaboration, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society has agreed to provide technical assistance and capacity-building support to strengthen the Office on Missing Persons (OMP).
President Disanayake highlighted that the budget 2025 has allocated funds for on-going programs related to searching for missing persons.
Additionally, the President announced plans to celebrate “Sri Lankan Day” as a national initiative aimed at fostering unity and strengthening the country’s collective identity, transcending ethnic and religious differences.
The President expressed his gratitude to the ICRC for its humanitarian operations in Sri Lanka since 1989 and acknowledged its continued commitment to the country.
The meeting was also attended by Roshan Gamage, Senior Additional Secretary to the President, and Ruwanthi Jayasundara, Communications Manager of the ICRC.
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and the Indonesian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Dewi Gustina Tobing, took place on Tuesday (25) at the Presidential Secretariat.
During the discussion, Ambassador Tobing extended Indonesia’s well wishes to the new government and reaffirmed Indonesia’s commitment to strengthening the 70-year-long friendship between the two nations.
The Ambassador highlighted that both Sri Lanka and Indonesia recently held simultaneous elections and established new governments. She further stated that Indonesia’s current administration will support the “Clean Sri Lanka” programme, noting that measures have been taken to implement a similar initiative in Indonesia.
The discussions also focused on establishing vibrant trade agreements and free trade arrangements between the two nations.
Additionally, both parties explored opportunities to expand markets in a mutually beneficial manner while further strengthening economic, social and cultural ties.
Senior Additional Secretary to the President, Roshan Gamage and Indonesian Deputy Ambassador, Fiki Oktanio, were also present at the meeting.
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