Floods Wreak Damage in Myanmar, Killing at Least 226, State Media Says 

Partially-submerged buildings are seen along a flooded road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP)
Partially-submerged buildings are seen along a flooded road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP)
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Floods Wreak Damage in Myanmar, Killing at Least 226, State Media Says 

Partially-submerged buildings are seen along a flooded road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP)
Partially-submerged buildings are seen along a flooded road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP)

Floods in Myanmar have killed at least 226 people in just over a week, state media reported on Tuesday, after heavy rains brought on by Typhoon Yagi battered the central provinces of the war-torn Southeast Asian country.

Around a third of Myanmar's 55 million people are already in need humanitarian aid, following incessant conflict triggered by a Feb. 2021 coup when the powerful military unseated the civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The areas hardest hit by the flooding include the second largest city of Mandalay, the capital Naypyitaw and parts of Shan state, a sprawling province that has seen heavy fighting in recent months.

Some 77 people are still missing, state media said.

"A total of 388 relief camps were opened in nine regions and states, and the well-wishers donated drinking water, food and clothes," reported the Global New Light of Myanmar, the newspaper of the military government.

In the Mandalay region alone, some 40,000 acres of agricultural land were submerged and some 26,700 houses damaged by the heavy rains and flooding, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) also said many flood-hit regions were difficult to reach as several roads were damaged and telecoms and electricity networks disrupted.

"Affected areas include camps for displaced people, including children, who were already struggling with limited services due to ongoing conflict," UNICEF said in a statement.

Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, has left a trail of devastation through parts of Southeast Asia, killing at least 292 people in Vietnam where it made landfall.

In Thailand, the storm caused heavy rains and flooding that inundated northern cities, including on the border with Myanmar.

At least 45 people have died across Thailand from flooding and flood-related events such as mudslides since last month, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

At least three people were killed and over 440 families evacuated in Laos, where flooding across eight provinces have also swamped some 7,825 acres of paddy fields, according to UNICEF.



Zelenskiy Thanks Trump for Readiness to Support Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 14, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 14, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
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Zelenskiy Thanks Trump for Readiness to Support Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 14, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 14, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he had spoken to US President Donald Trump after his announcement of new weapons for Ukraine and thanked him for his support. 

"It was a very good conversation. I thanked him for his readiness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just peace," Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app. 

Zelenskiy said he and Trump had agreed to speak more frequently and "continue coordinating our steps". 

He also said he had a very good conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who met with Trump at the White House on Monday. 

Trump told reporters he was disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin and that billions of dollars of US weapons would go to Ukraine. 

He also threatened sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Russia agreed to a peace deal, expressing frustration at repeated Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. But the threat of sanctions came with a 50-day grace period. 

The weapons would include Patriot air defense missiles, which Ukraine has urgently sought. 

Zelenskiy had earlier met US special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where they discussed boosting Ukraine's air defenses and Kyiv buying weapons with European help. 

Trump had said on Sunday that he would send Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine. 

"We discussed the path to peace and what we can practically do together to bring it closer. This includes strengthening Ukraine's air defense, joint production, and procurement of defense weapons in collaboration with Europe," Zelenskiy wrote on X. 

"And of course, sanctions against Russia and those who help it." 

Trump, who began his second term with a more conciliatory approach to Russia, has in recent weeks signaled disenchantment with Putin as Moscow has stepped up air strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. 

An air-raid alert was declared in Kyiv shortly after the meeting between Kellogg and Zelenskiy on Monday.