Irrawaddy threatens to overflow, leaving villagers with just sand bags for protection

Doing their part: Soldiers carrying relief aid for flood victims in Yangon, Myanmar. — EPA

HINTHADA (Myanmar): Myanmar’s president called for the evacuation of low-lying areas as the Irrawaddy river threatened to breach embankments, leaving villagers with just sand-bags to hold back churning waters that have hit much of the country.

Floods from a heavy monsoon season have cut through swathes of South and South-East Asia in recent weeks, claiming hundreds of lives and displacing millions.