Naypyidaw, As many as 85 villages were
flooded in Myanmar after a dam failed, unleashing waters that blocked
a major highway and forced more than 63,000 people from their
homes.
The disaster spotlights safety concerns about dams in
Southeast Asia after last month’s collapse of a hydroelectric dam in
neighboring Laos that displaced thousands of people and killed at
least 27.
Firefighters, troops and officials launched a desperate rescue
effort after the spillway of an irrigation dam burst at Swar creek in
central Myanmar, sending a torrent of water through villages and the
nearby towns of Swar and Yedashe.
By this morning, the water was receding, but two people
remained missing and were feared to have been washed away, Reuters
reported.
Source: Oman News Agency