People in Myanmar walk through a flooded road in Kayin State Tuesday after heavy monsoon rains forced thousands to evacuate. Photo by Lynn Bo Bo/EPA-EFE
July 26 (UPI) -- Flooding from heavy monsoon rains in Myanmar have led to more than 16,000 people fleeing their homes to wait in shelters for waters to subside.
The summer monsoon began last weekend and brought heavy rain to Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Japan.
Floods in Myanmar's Kayin state, on the border with Thailand, caused the Thanlwin River and others to rise, forcing about 16,800 people from their homes Wednesday, the Department of Disaster Management said.
The floods submerged villages, shut down roadways, closed schools and forced 50 patients to be transferred to higher ground at a temple.
Hpa-an, the state capital, was hardest hit with more than 10,000 residents displaced.
Relief officials opened nearly a dozen evacuation centers to accommodate those forced from their homes.
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