Myanmar floods kill 81, president urges people to leave delta

Myanmar’s president urged people to leave a low-lying southern delta region on Thursday. Rainwater has inundated much of the country threatening further flooding as rivers reached dangerously high levels. The widespread floods that were triggered last week by heavy monsoon rains have killed 81 people, Reuters said, citing officials from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. President Thein Sein told people living in the Ayeyarwady delta region to seek shelter as swollen rivers rose higher. About 6.2 million people, 12 percent of Myanmar’s population, live in the region.