Typhoon Yagi Leaves at Least 110 Dead in Myanmar

Rescuers in Myanmar said on Friday that floods and landslides set off by Typhoon Yagi had killed at least 110 people, as the death toll from the storm kept rising across Southeast Asia, days after it struck the region with powerful winds and intense rain.

Yagi, which slammed into the Philippines and southern China last week, made landfall in Vietnam on Saturday as a super typhoon, the strongest to hit the nation in decades. The storm dissipated over the next days but left a trail of destruction in northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.

Many residents in Myanmar, a nation torn by a civil war, said they were unable to prepare for the storm’s expected arrival because of the lack of advance alerts about the risk of severe weather and flooding. Battles between the military junta and rebel forces continued to rage even through the storm.

Nearly a week later, the full extent of the destruction was still not clear, with communication lines down in many areas, and with persistent rain keeping waters high. The junta was also focused on its battles, using its aircraft for bombings instead of saving lives, said Maj. Gen. Naw Bu, a spokesman for the Kaichin Independence Army, a rebel group.

Rescuers in multiple towns reported finding bodies that had been swept away by floodwaters or caught in landslides, and said they expected the death toll to rise.

Sixty bodies were found in Kalaw, a city about 70 miles northeast of Naypyidaw, the capital, where an entire train station was submerged in muddy water, said Ko Aung Htet, a member of a local rescue team. About 80 people were still missing.