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Nearly 120,000 displaced in Myanmar floods
by Staff Writers
Yangon (AFP) July 31, 2018

Bodies of 23 Myanmar landslide victims found: official
Yangon (AFP) July 30, 2018 - The bodies of 23 victims of a landslide in Myanmar's northern jade mining area have been recovered, an official confirmed Monday, after a days-long search hampered by heavy monsoon rains.

Rescuers are still looking for a further four victims, many of whom belong to the small ethnic Rawang minority in the remote area of Kachin state, the heart of the country's notoriously shadowy multibillion-dollar jade industry.

"We found 23 dead bodies by yesterday (Sunday) evening and we will try to find the remaining four if the weather is good today," an official from Hpakant's local government told AFP, requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Landslides have killed dozens this year around the treacherous jade mines where impoverished locals comb deep gouges in the ground for pieces of the semi-precious gemstone.

This latest disaster in Set Mu sub-township hit the small Rawang ethnic group particularly hard.

The mainly-Christian community number only about 70,000 people and are one of Myanmar's smallest ethnicities.

"Funerals have been held by their respective families. This time our local villages have really been hurt badly," said Shwe Thein, a local resident helping with recovery operations.

Much of the world's top-quality jade comes from Kachin state but most is smuggled over the border to feed the insatiable demand in China.

It is big business for those at the top -- watchdog Global Witness estimated that the sector in 2014 was worth some $31 billion.

The lack of regulations and poor oversight, however, mean that little of the profits end up in state coffers.

Kachin's abundant natural resources help fund both sides of a decades-long conflict between ethnic rebels and the military as they battle over control of the mines and the income they bring.

More than 100,000 civilians have been forced to flee their homes -- many multiple times -- since a 17-year ceasefire broke down in 2011.

Nearly 120,000 people have been displaced after floods submerged a vast swathe of southeastern Myanmar, killing 11 people and sending panicked residents fleeing for dry ground with children perched on their shoulders and few belongings in tow.

An official told AFP Tuesday over 118,000 people have taken refuge in 285 camps so far, as the toll climbed to 11 dead -- including three solders -- with more deaths feared.

Swirling, muddy waters reached thatched-roofed homes and wiped out farmland in four provinces as officials scrambled to set up rescue centres amid continued torrential rains on Tuesday.

Rescuers in boats tried to pluck people from floodwaters in Hpa-an in Karen state while other residents tried to escape by any means possible, balancing on makeshift rafts or wading out carrying children and plastic bags of goods.

"There could be a few more casualties but we are still collecting the information," Social Welfare Ministry Director Phyu Lei Lei Tun said.

"Water is going down in some places. But we do not know how long the disaster will last."

Meanwhile five others were confirmed killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Kawthaung township in Myanmar's southern tip.

Evacuation orders are still in place for many flood-stricken areas with a number of rivers exceeding danger levels by several feet and 36 dams and reservoirs overflowing, state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.

The Mekong region has been battered by particularly heavy monsoon rains this year, causing devastating floods that have forced thousands to flee and wiped out homes and farmland.

Heavy rains caused a massive dam in southern Laos to collapse last week, wiping out entire villages and killing at least 11 -- though earlier official tolls initially put the number as high as 27.

Floodwaters from that catastrophe seeped into Cambodia and forced thousands from their homes.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors in southern Laos more than a week after the dam collapse, with Thai, South Korean and Chinese specialists joining efforts to find scores still missing.


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SHAKE AND BLOW
After fires, floods hit Greek capital
Athens (AFP) July 26, 2018
Heavy rains led to flash flooding Thursday in the north of Athens, three days after devastating wildfires killed scores of people in the region around the Greek capital. Fire services said they received at least 10 calls from motorists whose vehicles were stranded when roads became rivers after storms in the upscale districts of Maroussi and Ekali. A civil defence spokesman said "dozens of cars were stuck on several main roads" after the early afternoon downpour, adding that traffic was gradual ... read more

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