UNREPORTED FLOOD SWEEPS THROUGH VILLAGE IN BURMA

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2001 - A small dam in central Burma overflowed earlier this month, flooding the village of Na-bai-kan and injuring an unknown number of people, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported Thursday. After heavy rains, the Mung Daing dam near Meiktila city ran over in the early morning hours, according to local residents and Rangoon-based diplomats who asked not to be named. The incident appears to have gone unreported in Burma's domestic media. The flooding swept away several bridges in the area and caused the main local road to be closed, bringing all activity to a standstill, the sources said. The road has since reopened and the number of people injured remains unknown, they said. "Practically the whole city of Meiktila was under water. Some of the villages in the surrounding areas were also affected," one local resident said. "In the Wundwin area, a number of bridges were swept away... where we live in Meiktila we were not able to go anywhere for four or five days." Central Burma is generally dry but has had unusually heavy rain this year. Meiktila, 500 kms north of Rangoon, is also to a major Burmese Air Force Base.