Residents of Moebye in Pekon Township – on the border between southern Shan State and Karenni (Kayah) State are faced with a flood risk due to continuous downpour of rain and after the military council discharged water from the Moebye Dam, causing nearly 500 acres of farmland belonging to the displaced people to be flooded, according to residents of the town.
The relentless rain caused to rise water level in Moebye Dam. To prevent the dam from bursting, the military council started discharging water from the dam from the second week of October, according to locals.
The dam water has been released at a rate of five feet per day, causing some farmlands to flood and forcing displaced people to relocate, according to officials of PDF-Moebye.
“Rather than the villages, displaced people are more affected. Farmlands of Moebye residents are located on the banks of Belu Chaung. They have been living in huts on the farmlands. Now the flooding has hit them. There are around 200-300 displaced families there. Residents of Nyaungwaing no longer dare to live in their village. All the villagers have fled because of the presence of junta troops. But the main victims in Moebye now are the displaced people whose farms are near Belu Chaung. They fled the war while working on their farms, and now they have been affected by the floods,” said a spokesperson of the PDF-Moebye.
In the past, flooding used to occur in Moebye every five years, with dam water released. However, this time, the military council has discharged the dam water excessively, causing the displaced people’s farms and huts to be flooded and forcing them to relocate.
As of now, nearly 500 acres of farmland belonging to the displaced people around Moebye and along the south banks of Belu Chaung have been flooded, and around 1,500 displaced people have been forced to relocate, according to Moebye residents.
“If the water level rise further, the farmland could get under water, but it depends on the rain. The water level will only rise if the rain continues. But it also depends of the rain and the military council. If they release more water, the area there will be more flooding. The situation could get a little worse, but not that worse. Now their farms have been all damaged. Their farms have been flooded at the harvest time,” said PDF-Moebye spokesperson.
Due to the flood danger, displaced people in Moebye town have urgently relocated to the hills south of town and to Loikaw, and are in need of food, shelter and other assistance.
In addition, the water released from Moebye Dam has entered parts of Loikaw such as Dawtama, Lawdama, Dammaryone, Nangkut, Zaypine, Zaypyin, Shwetaung and Dawnoeku, raising concerns among residents in those neighborhoods about potential flooding.
Sent by NMG.