Flooding, landslides kill nearly 50 people in Myanmar; northwestern areas being evacuated

Flooding, landslides kill nearly 50 in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar — Floods and landslides have killed at least 46 people in northwest Myanmar and rescue workers are evacuating residents affected by the incessant rains, official media said Thursday.

The deaths occurred Tuesday in northern Rakhine state bordering Bangladesh, which had been battered by heavy rain for two days.

Local authorities were continuing to aid victims and trying to open a key road damaged by the torrents, the Myanma Ahlin newspaper said. Bridges also were washed out in the region.

State television reported Wednesday that 28 people were killed when houses built on mountains collapsed due to landslides in Buthidaung, 360 miles (576 kilometers) northwest of Yangon and 18 others died in Maundaw, south of Buthidaung.

Flooding is common during the monsoon season that typically starts in late May.

Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar in May 2008, leaving more than 140,000 people dead or missing.