Almost 100 children sick from ongoing flooding in Sagaing’s Khin-U Township

Nearly 100 children in a village in western Khin-U Township, Sagaing Region, are suffering from fever, diarrhea, and skin infections following severe flooding in the region, according to the local People's Defense Force (PDF). In early August, water from the Thaphanseik Dam in Sagaing Region was released during a period of substantial rainfall, causing major flooding in numerous villages further down the Mu River. The leader of the local PDF stated that since August 25, children in the village had begun to fall ill as a result of the prolonged flooding. “Children are being sent to nearby clinics for treatment. Adults aren’t affected as much; it’s mostly children. Some kids have scabies from having to move through mud and sludge,” the resistance leader said. “There is still water now. Water flooded the entire village... about 50 households still have stagnant water,” he added. Among the children affected, the majority have flu-like symptoms, around 20 have diarrhea, and approximately 15 are suffering from skin infections. The mother of a three-year-old child said that her child was receiving treatment at a clinic in a neighbouring village. “My child has had a fever for about two weeks—fine during the day, but running high at night. I’ve been taking him to the clinic in the neighbouring village. They just gave oral medication; no blood tests were done,” she said. She added that there were about 10 other people sick with fever among neighbouring households. In some flood-affected villages, livestock, such as buffaloes and cows, were suffering from foot-and-mouth disease and skin conditions caused by the prolonged wet, and some had died, according to sources. The National Unity Government (NUG) and external donors have provided essential rice, cooking oil, beans, snacks, and mosquito coils to the village; however, locals have not yet received any medical or hygiene materials to address the health issues. An NUG administrator in Khin-U Township stated that assistance is being provided to the flood-affected villages. “Relief aid is still ongoing as of today [Thursday]. We are providing medical care by visiting villages individually, and we are still collecting lists of damages and losses,” the administrator said. Following the release of the junta-controlled Thaphanseik Dam on August 6—which occurred while the country was already experiencing heavy rainfall—30 people died across 14 townships in Sagaing Region, and thousands of acres of farmland were destroyed by flooding. Six women transplanting rice in Depayin Township were drowned in a flash flood while attempting to cross a stream on August 6, while four others managed to escape. A 2022 report said that the Thaphanseik Dam supplied water to over 500,000 acres of monsoon paddy fields and over 300,000 acres of summer paddy across nine townships in Sagaing Region. The junta has not issued any news release regarding the opening of dam waters or the flooding of villages along the Mu River.

Almost 100 children sick from ongoing flooding in Sagaing’s Khin-U Township

As locals in Sagaing Region continue to face livelihood hardships following prolonged flooding, magnified by the release of the Thaphanseik Dam, health issues among children are mounting

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