YANGON: The death toll from flooding following Typhoon Yagi has doubled to 226 in Myanmar, state media reported.
Confirming that the death toll had doubled from the previous 113 deaths, state television revealed on Monday that 77 people were still missing after the storm that caused flooding that destroyed rice fields and other crops spread over 640,000 acres.
Yagi swept across northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar more than a week ago with strong winds and massive amounts of rain, triggering floods and landslides that have killed more than 500 people, according to official figures.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) disaster response agency said an estimated 631,000 people had been affected by flooding in Myanmar.
Food, clean water, shelter and clothing are urgently needed, UNOCHA said, warning that blocked roads and damaged bridges were severely hampering relief efforts.
Poor communication, particularly with remote areas, has also meant that information about victims has been slow to spread.
More than 150,000 homes were flooded, Myanmar's new global light The junta has reportedly opened more than 400 relief camps.
The U.N. World Food Program said Monday the flooding was the worst in Myanmar's recent history, without giving precise details.
Severe flooding hit the country in 2011 and 2015, with more than 100 deaths reported on both occasions, while in 2008 Cyclone Nargis left more than 138,000 people dead or missing.
The junta launched a rare appeal for foreign aid over the weekend, while the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said more resources are urgently needed.
Myanmar's military has blocked or thwarted humanitarian assistance from abroad in recent years, including after powerful Cyclone Mocha last year, when it suspended travel authorizations for aid groups trying to reach around a million people.
Even before the latest floods, people in Myanmar were grappling with the effects of three years of war between the junta and armed groups opposed to its rule, with millions forced from their homes by the conflict.
