Unprecedented floods are sweeping across Shan State, submerging homes and damaging farmlands, according to locals.

In August 2024, flash floods impacted the townships of Namsang, Kholam, Kunhing, Mongnai, Langkho (Linkhay), and Mong Pan in southern Shan State, and Tachileik Township in eastern Shan State.

The unprecedented floods in Shan State, a region with more hills and mountains than many others, have been blamed on the over-exploitation of resources, and uncontrolled gold and coal mining.

On 28 August, a Langkho resident said to SHAN: “Our whole house is already submerged, and there are hundreds of others just like it. Things are getting worse today.”

The floods inundated over 6,000 acres of paddy and corn fields in Mongnai Township and more than 3,000 acres of farmland were destroyed in Langkho Township.

A Mongnai Township resident said: “This year’s floods are devastating. Many farms are underwater, and houses are submerged. We had to move and take refuge at our relatives’ houses.”
Locals are concerned after Kunhing Town, in Kunhing Township, experienced its first ever flooding this year.

“We’ve never had floods here before, so the locals are panicking. There’s a chance we’ll face floods in the coming years too. If the rain continues, the current floods could last longer”, said a Kunhing Township resident to SHAN.

Similarly, Tachileik Town in eastern Shan State’s Tachileik Township has experienced flooding an unprecedented six times, so far, this rainy season, according to locals.

A woman from Tachileik Town said: “Whenever it rains heavily, it floods. Even after the floodwaters recede and we clean the house, the floods come back. After experiencing this six times, we feel completely exhausted.”

The flood victims are having to cope with the aftermath of the floods themselves due to a lack of effective support from the authorities. There are no shelters for flood victims, so most have had to seek refuge in relative’s homes.