Myanmar residents flee deadly floods on makeshift rafts, boats

CARRYING children on their backs or rowing the elderly on makeshift rafts through rising waters on Thursday, thousands of Myanmar residents fled severe flooding triggered by the deadly Typhoon Yagi.

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Torrential rains have lashed conflict-racked Myanmar in the wake of Typhoon Yagi which smashed into Vietnam at the weekend, wrecking infrastructure and causing deadly landslides across the region.

Floods have tipped rivers in Myanmar over their danger levels, cut communications and displaced more than 53,000 people, authorities said.

Around 600 people were sheltering in a school building after fleeing their homes near the surging Sittaung river in Taungoo town, about 220 km from Yangon, local rescuers said.