Floods in northern Myanmar have left thousands stranded in their homes and cut off from electricity and phone services, according to residents and local media reports on Tuesday. The state weather office has warned that more heavy rain is on the way.
After days of relentless downpours in Myitkyina, a city in northern Kachin state, the Ayeyarwady River has surged above its “danger level,” state media reported. Local media images depict inundated buildings and residents wading through neck-high water, clutching their belongings over their heads.
“Water has been rising very quickly. Many residents are still stuck in their houses,” a Myitkyina resident told AFP, noting that electricity and phone networks have been down since Sunday. “There has been a fuel shortage in town, and rescuers are facing a lot of difficulties reaching people by motorboat.”
Another Myitkyina resident shared that the lower floor of her house was submerged, forcing her to take shelter with neighbors until rescue teams could reach them. Although the waters had receded slightly by Tuesday morning, it was still raining.
Local media confirmed that the floodwaters had trapped thousands of people in their homes, and the state weather office warned of more heavy rain in the coming days. Downstream in the second city of Mandalay, the Ayeyarwady River could rise by six to ten feet in the first ten days of July.
During the June to October rainy season, landslides are a regular and deadly hazard for the thousands of migrant workers who travel to Kachin state to extract precious metals and minerals from its hills. A recent landslide at a rare earth mine resulted in five deaths and at least seven people missing, as confirmed by a mine worker and local media. This tragedy occurred shortly after a record-breaking heatwave in Myanmar, where temperatures reached up to 48°C. Scientists attribute intensified weather patterns to man-made climate change.

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