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Floods leave 10 dead in Myanmar in 48 hours

At least 10 people lose their lives in Myanmar floods over the past 24 hours, officials say.

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Flood-affected residents make their way through floodwaters in a village in Kawlin Township, Sagaing Division, Myanmar, on July 21, 2015, after torrential rains hit the area. ©AFP

At least 10 people have been killed in floods triggered by monsoon rains in Myanmar over the past 48 hours, officials say.

Myanmar’s Information Ministry said on Sunday that flash floods in the town of Thabeikkyin in the country’s central Mandalay region left six people dead on Saturday.

Another three Myanmarese also lost their lives in the town of Thibaw in the northeastern Shan State on the same day, the ministry added.

According to the ministry, a 19-year-old boy had fallen victim to floods in the town of Muse in the same state on Friday.

Flood-affected residents receive food from local donors at a village in Kawlin Township, Sagaing Division, Myanmar, on July 21, 2015 after torrential rains hit the area. ©AFP

Flooding is common during Myanmar’s annual monsoon season, which is usually between late May and mid-October.

Several parts of Myanmar have been hit by heavy rainfall over the past few days, with some areas of Shan State seeing as much as 170 millimeters of rain only in the last 24 hours.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a recent report that up to 12,000 houses have been damaged during recent rains in the Sagaing region as well as Kachin State, both located in northern Myanmar.