At least 53 dead in southern Myanmar landslide

At least 53 people were killed by a landslide thatstruck a village in Myanmar's southern Mon state on August 9, theMyanmar Fire Services Department announced on Sunday.The landslide, triggered by torrential rainfall the previous night,swept away dozens of homes in the village of The Phyu Gon, located atthe foot of a mountain in Mon state's Paung township. Hundreds ofrescue workers pulled bodies from the muddy rubble throughout theweekend, and rescue efforts will continue through the coming week.On Saturday, Myanmar Vice President Henry Van Thio visited thevillage to deliver cash assistance to the victims' families. "Efforts will be made toward preventing the recurrence of suchdisasters, people will be informed and preventive exercises will beconducted regularly," he told the families.The vice president also visited other towns and villages across Monstate, where more than 4,000 homes have been flooded. He also visitedmonasteries that are serving as makeshift relocation camps for anestimated 25,000 people displaced by the floods.Highways and railroads between Mon state and Yangon, Myanmar's maincity, were closed over the weekend because of the floods. Themilitary have announced plans to deliver emergency supplies byhelicopter.A list compiled by climate scientists in 2015 ranked Myanmar as thecountry hardest hit by extreme weather events. That year, over 100people were killed by floods across the country, and people have beenkilled and displaced by floods and landslides every year since.