Landslides caused by heavy rain have killed 20 people in Loilem Township, in southern Shan State, during the second week of September 2024.

The landslides have caused about 20 known deaths in the Loilem Township villages of Hkawngnwet and Einhkit, but there are still bodies to recover and many people remain missing and unaccounted for, according to a representative of an aid organisation providing assistance in the area.

He said: “We have found approximately 20 bodies, as far as we know. These are the bodies we’ve found in the last five days. There might be more. Some bodies of those whose cars were swept away by the landslide are still trapped under the mountain. Some bodies also remain unrecovered in Einhkit Village.”

He added that so far about 20 bodies have been recovered and he estimates that there may be a further 10 bodies not yet recovered.

Heavy rainfall has triggered a landslide that has blocked and damaged the highway between Loilem Town and Mongpawn Town in Mongpawn Township, to the southwest of Loilem Town.

A Mongpawn Town resident explained to the SHAN that people travelling between Loilem and Mongpawn towns now have to use the Kyauk Tan bypass road. This has left many trucks and larger vehicles trapped in Mongpawn Town as they are too large to take the Kyauk Tan bypass road.

The aforementioned Mongpawn Town resident said: “The landslides have been happening for several days now. The roads have been blocked for about five days due to the landslide. No vehicles can pass. The Kyauk Tan road is the only route available to us. Even large vehicles cannot pass; there are steep uphills and downhills. Many large vehicles remain stranded in Mongpawn.”

During the first two weeks of September the tail end of Typhoon Yagi bought severe flooding to the eastern and southern regions of Shan State that caused significant destruction and loss.

The bad weather has caused 140 deaths in the villages and townships of southern Shan State according to a 16 September 2024 statement by the Pa-O Youth Organisation (PYO).

The statement also said that at least 150 villages in Taunggyi and Loilem districts have been impacted by the flooding and around 100 people are still missing in southern Shan State.