Sawt Falasteen - Myanmar battles Yagi floods as Vietnam begins clear-up

A swathe of northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar have been battling floods and landslides in the wake of Typhoon Yagi, which dumped a colossal deluge of rain when it hit the region last weekend.

The overall death toll across the four countries stands at 280, including 233 in Vietnam and 36 in Myanmar, but with many people missing it is expected to rise further.

Myanmar's national fire service on Friday confirmed the new death toll, up from 17, while more than 50,000 people have been forced from their homes.

"We walked through neck-high water this morning,” one woman told AFP at Sin Thay village.

"We are very hungry and thirsty. It been about three days we don't have food."

Soldiers rescued residents of flooded villages in the complex network of rivers and creeks surrounding the sprawling, low-rise capital, with some forced to wade through deep muddy brown waters.

Houses and nearby banana and sugarcane plantations were all submerged.

"This is the very first time I have experienced such a flood," another man said near the village, where people had gathered near a small bridge.

"We didn't have time to prepare. It was a very scary experience."

State media said flooding in the area around the capital had caused landslides and destroyed electricity towers, buildings, roads, bridges, and houses.

In Mandalay region, one group of villagers rode elephants to reach dry land, in footage posted on social media.

- Hanoi clear-up -

In Vietnamese capital Hanoi, residents equipped with shovels, brushes and hoses were out clearing up debris and mud from the streets after the waters that had submerged parts of the city receded -- and the sun came out for the first time in days.

The Red River through Hanoi reached its highest level in 20 years earlier this week as the rain brought by Yagi funnelled out towards the sea.

"This was the highest flooding I've ever seen, it was more than a metre on our first floor," Nguyen Lan Huong, 40, told AFP.

"The water started to recede yesterday afternoon so we began cleaning up bit by bit. But it will take days for our family to fully recover, and even weeks for the community here I think."

A total of 130,000 people were evacuated in northern Vietnam since Yagi hit on Saturday -- and many have not yet been able to return home -- while more than 135,000 homes have been damaged according to the authorities.

In the deadliest single incident, a landslide wiped out a village in mountainous Lao Cai province, killing 48 people.

But in a rare piece of good news, eight people missing in the landslide and feared dead have returned safe. Some had been staying with relatives while others managed to escape in time.

Northern Thailand was also badly affected, with one district on the Myanmar border reporting its worst floods in 80 years.

Officials said Friday a fatality in a landslide in Chiang Rai province had taken the toll in the kingdom to 10.

Flights to Chiang Rai airport resumed on Friday a day after airlines halted them.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was set to visit Chiang Rai on Friday to see relief efforts, which are being led by the military.

There are flood warnings for several locations along the River Mekong, including Laotian capital Vientiane.

The Mekong River Commission said low-lying areas around Vientiane are expected to be flooded over the next few days.

burs-pdw/hmn

I.Saadi--SF-PST