Floods, landslides kill 100 in Myanmar, Bangladesh

Rescuers begin to recover bodies from areas affected by deadly monsoon rains

Published June 17, 2010 1:54PM (EDT)

Bangladeshi women who lost their relatives in landslides react in Ukhia, 296 kilometers (185 miles) south of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, June 16, 2010. Triggered by heavy rains, the powerful mudslides struck Tuesday, burying thatched homes and cutting off thousands in southeastern Bangladesh. Dozens of bodies have been recovered as the death toll continues to rise. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)        (AP)
Bangladeshi women who lost their relatives in landslides react in Ukhia, 296 kilometers (185 miles) south of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, June 16, 2010. Triggered by heavy rains, the powerful mudslides struck Tuesday, burying thatched homes and cutting off thousands in southeastern Bangladesh. Dozens of bodies have been recovered as the death toll continues to rise. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman) (AP)

Floods and landslides triggered by incessant monsoon rains in Myanmar and Bangladesh have killed more than 100 people, officials and reports said Thursday.

At least 46 people died Tuesday in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state, according to the state-run Myanma Ahlin newspaper. Rescue workers are pulling residents out of the worst-affected areas and trying to open a key road damaged in the torrents. Bridges in the region have also been washed out.

State television reported Wednesday that 28 of the people were killed when houses built on mountains collapsed in landslides in Buthidaung, 360 miles (575 kilometers) northwest of Yangon, and 18 others died in Maundaw, south of Buthidaung.

Meanwhile, across the border, Bangladesh recovered three more bodies overnight in the southeastern Cox's Bazar district, raising the death toll from powerful landslides to 56, said local magistrate Mohammad Jasim Uddin. Rains in the area have now stopped, he said.

Flooding is common in both countries during the monsoon season that typically starts in late May. Cyclone Nargis struck both countries in May 2008, devastating large swaths of Myanmar where it left more than 140,000 people dead or missing.


By Associated Press

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