Mon State communities affected by tornadoes and strong winds on 23 July 2025, that were the tail end of Cyclone Wipha, have yet to receive any assistance from the junta.
On 23 July, tornadoes and strong winds caused widespread damage across Kyaikto, Thaton, Paung, Mudon, Ye, and Thanbyuzayat townships in Mon State, killing one person and injuring 14 others. Approximately 500 houses were also damaged by the severe weather.
Those affected by the bad weather have been seeking refuge in monasteries, chapels, and relatives’ homes.
The junta has provided no aid for the affected people who are struggling, in urgent need of food and face accommodation problems because they cannot afford to rebuild their damaged houses without any aid.
He said: “All we know is that only the Red Cross has sent some aid. We haven’t seen any help from the [junta] authorities. The people who lost their homes are now staying in places like monasteries. Some houses haven’t been repaired yet, and in some cases, entire metal roofs were ripped off.
There’s a lot that’s needed for repairs, and right now, food is urgently needed for those affected.”
He added that as well as food, affected communities are also in urgent need of drinking water, medicine, and proper shelter, especially if the rain continues.
Despite these widespread reports that the junta has provided no aid to anyone affected by the bad weather, junta propaganda channels on Telegram claimed that the junta authorities visited Paung Township on 26 July and provided aid to those affected by the storm, despite no evidence on the ground that the junta had provided any sort of aid.
The junta Telegram channels falsely claimed that during their visit to Paung Township, the junta authorities gave 200,000 MMK to each household whose home had completely collapsed, 100,000 MMK to those whose roofs were torn off, 50,000 MMK to each injured person, and 5,000 MMK to each affected individual.
However, victims of the storm said they had not received any assistance from the junta and criticised the amounts of money that the junta claimed to have distributed as insufficient to cover rebuilding costs.
The tornadoes and strong winds also brought down power lines that caused electricity outages in six Mon State townships and uprooted trees that blocked roads.
Severe Tropical Storm Wipha was a strong and deadly tropical cyclone that originated from a disturbance in the Philippine Sea on 16 July. It made landfall in Guangdong Province China and Vietnam on 20 July, before weakening as it moved inland and on to Thailand and Myanmar before dissipating on 23 July.
