TWO children were killed and two others were injured when a tornado destroyed a school building on August 4 in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady River delta, official media said Monday.

The school building collapsed when the tornado struck on Saturday morning in Labutta township, about 170 kilometres (105 miles) southwest of Yangon, the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

A total of about 60 houses, school buildings and offices were also damaged by the tornado, the paper said.

Meanwhile, other parts of the country remain hit by severe floods, with thousands feared home-less, the paper said.

Severe flooding was first reported in early July in Bago, 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Yangon.

Authorities have been warning of dangerously high waters on four of the rivers that run the length of the country.

Myanmar has suffered a series of deadly storms since late May, when eight people were killed by a storm that lashed the country’s western coast.

A woman was killed in Yangon in late June when a tornado ripped through part of the city.

Myanmar’s rainy season began in June and seasonal flooding is an annual problem. Some parts of Myanmar have experienced record rainfall this year, according to state media.

Official reports said the government was providing emergency assistance to victims of the storms and flooding. – AFP