A landslide at Tawnaw waterfall bought on by prolonged torrential rain blocked the Myawaddy to Kawkareik Road in Kawnwe Village, Kawkareik Township, Karen State at 1:00 p.m. on 7 August.
The Myawaddy to Kawkareik Road is part of the Asia Highway linking Myawaddy on the Thai border with Kawkareik and the rest of Myanmar. It serves as an important trade and transportation route and plays a crucial role in promoting cross-border trade and facilitating regional connectivity.
Currently, it is impossible to travel from Myawaddy to Kawkareik on the Asia Highway because of the landslide.
“There has been a significant land collapse. The collapsed area is more than 100 feet wide at its widest point, and even the narrowest section measures around 60 feet. The depth of the collapse is reported to be over 30 feet, indicating a highly precarious and dangerous situation”, said a traveller.
Despite workers having dumper trucks and bulldozers, work to clear and mend the road has been delayed due to heavy rain.
"Travel is not feasible due to the destruction of the highway road, it is even impeding the rescue vehicles and bulldozers,” said a leader of a Kawkareik social assistance association.
It has been raining heavily in Karen State since the beginning of August.
"The rain has persisted without interruption since the beginning of August, leading to flooding in certain wards”, said a Kawkareik resident.
Local residents have reported that the water in the Salween [aka Thanlwin] and Moei rivers has reached dangerous levels, which has led to flooding in towns such as Hpa-an, Kawkareik, Hlaingbwe, and Myawaddy.
Residents of Ward No. 5 and Ward No. 1 in Myawaddy Town, on the border with Thailand, are grappling with severe flooding because of high water levels in the Moei River, which separates Myanmar from Thailand. According to reports, residents are being evacuated to emergency relief centers for their own safety.
Regarding the recent weather conditions, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (MOHADM) of the shadow National Unity Governemnt (NUG) announced that some coastal and inland areas may continue experiencing more rainfall.
It said that, especially in Rakhine State, there might be very heavy rainfall in the first two weeks of August.
The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology under the Military Council warned that there might be heavy rain over the next few days in Rakhine State, Nay Pyi Taw, Sagaing Region, Kachin State, Karen State, and Mon State.
During the monsoon season in Myanmar it is not uncommon for a combination of heavy rainfall and large amounts of water flowing downhill off mountains to saturate soil. This makes it unstable and causes landslides that can block roads.
