More Than 40 Schools Remain Closed Due to Flooding in Mon State

The situation in Kyaikmayaw Township in particular remains critical.

By NETWORK MEDIA GROUP (NMG)

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Forty-four schools remained closed in three Mon State townships on Monday due to heavy flooding, according to the Mon State Department of Education.

While water levels have receded in some areas of the state, the situation in Kyaikmayaw, Thaton and Paung townships remains critical.

“The water level hasn’t decreased in Kyaikmayaw, so we cannot re-open the schools there. We can open most schools in other townships,” Daw Lae Lae Kyi, deputy director of the state’s education department, told NMG.

Of the 44 school closures, 36 are in Kyaikmayaw, seven are in Paung, and one is in Thaton.

Heavy rain began on July 23 in Mon State, and more than 140 schools were initially forced to close due to rising water levels in Beelin, Kyaikhto, Kyaikmayaw, Mawlamyine, Paung, and Thaton townships.

Daw Lae Lae Kyi said that nearly 20 of these schools are still in need of repairs, and the education department is responsible for providing educational materials to the schools that have been damaged.

Throughout the central and eastern regions of the country, hundreds of schools have closed due to flooding.

The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement released a statement on Saturday revealing that more than 150,000 people have been displaced nationally by flooding and that there have been some casualties.

More than 14,000 people have been moved to 50 rescue camps throughout Mon State, according to the state’s environmental management department.

The worst flooding has reportedly occurred in Mon and Karen states and in Bago Region, with the water levels in the Bago, Thanlwin and Sittaung rivers rising to their highest known points in 50 years.