Over 14,000 people are displaced by severe flooding in southern Myanmar

Officials and state-run media reported Monday that heavy monsoon rains in southern Myanmar have displaced over 14,000 people and disrupted rail traffic between the country's biggest cities.

On Monday evening, state television MRTV reported that 36 relief camps were housing that many displaced people in Bago township, 68 kilometers (42 miles) northeast of Yangon, the country's largest city. It said nearly 1,000 more people in Mon state's township east of Bago were in three relief camps, and some were evacuated in northern Yangon.

Lay Shwe Zin Oo, a senior official at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief, and Resettlement, said low-lying areas of Bago township flooded last week due to constant rainfall. No casualties have been reported, she said.

Myanmar's Meteorological Department reported Sunday that Bago township received 7.87 inches (200 millimeters) of rain, its highest level in 59 years. Rain or thundershowers were expected nationwide until noon on Tuesday.

Lay Shwe Zin Oo, Social Welfare Ministry official, said Bago evacuees were sheltering in relief camps, schools, and Buddhist monasteries while authorities provided food, water, and other necessities.