Death toll rises in Myanmar flooding

Rescue workers in Myanmar are racing to help tens of thousands of people facing severe floods, as the death toll climbed to at least 46, officials have said.

Phyu Le Le Tun, Myanmar’s relief and resettlement director, told Al Jazeera that at least 217,000 people have been affected in the country, after monsoon rains triggered flash floods and landslides, destroying thousands of houses, farmland, bridges and roads.

She also said that four people remain missing since the floods began.

Authorities have declared the four worst-hit areas in central and western Myanmar “national disaster-affected regions”.

In the northern Sagaing region, residents said the flood waters caught them off guard as they swept into villages, engulfing homes and fields.