Headlines
On 22 September, President U Thein Sein visited Chin State, one of the areas most severely affected by floods and landslides in July and August. The President visited camps for people displaced by the floods and chaired a meeting with Chin State government officials in Hakha, Capital of Chin State. Almost 3,000 homes were destroyed or damaged due to landslides in the state and households need to be relocated as it is not safe for them to return and rebuild on the original sites.
The President urged local government authorities to make every effort to complete the task of relocating affected families and to swiftly develop a strategy for providing them with adequate infrastructure and basic amentities, such as water supply, electricity, schools and health facilities. Adequate temporary shelters are urgently needed before the winter season starts in mid-October. President U Thein Sein also provided clothes, blankets and solar lamps to landslide-hit communities.
On 30 September, President U Thein Sein visited Ayeyarwaddy Region and inspected dams and embankments. He promised that the government would provide assistance to farmers who could not regrow rice in time for the end of the rainy season, so they can grow alternative crops during the winter season. The President also encouraged local authorities and the government officials to restore river embankments to build resilience, to implement flood prevention measures and to raise the height of Nga Wun embankment, Pathein Township, Ayeyarwady Region.