UNICEF Warns Six Million Children Affected By Typhoon Yagi

The floods and landslides caused by Typhoon Yagi in Southeast Asia, particularly in Vietnam and Myanmar, have affected almost six million children, UNICEF warned today.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) also stresses that there are serious risks to access to drinking water and food, as well as disruptions to the various school systems.

 

“The most vulnerable children, as well as their families, are facing devastating consequences following the destruction caused by (Typhoon) Yagi,” said June Kunugi, UNICEF's regional director for East Asia and the Pacific. 

Millions of people in Southeast Asia were affected by the typhoon, the strongest recorded since the beginning of the year, especially in Vietnam where it caused 290 deaths on September 7.

In Myanmar (formerly Burma), the provisional toll indicates the death of 226 people living in the affected areas. 

Thailand, Laos, the Philippines and the People's Republic of China have also suffered casualties. 

“The immediate priority must be to restore the essential services that children depend on, such as drinking water, education and sanitation. The increase in extreme weather phenomena in Southeast Asia affects children (...), it is children who pay the highest price,” added Kunugi.

UNICEF points out that the Yagi also caused torrential rains, overflowing rivers and causing landslides.

More than 850 schools and 550 clinics were damaged by the typhoon, most of them in Vietnam, although the count is still ongoing.

In Vietnam, around three million people, including many children, have no access to drinking water and sanitation and two million children cannot go to school.

In Myanmar, UNICEF adds, the floods have “intensified” the crisis for many communities already displaced by the conflict raging in the country, where the military in power after the 2021 coup is facing armed resistance from pro-democracy militias and ethnic guerrillas in much of the territory.

In northern Thailand, the storm has affected around 64,000 children and in Laos 60,000, says UNICEF, which says it is distributing aid in the affected countries.