""The Ayeyarwady River has been rising since last week and flooded villages near the river. Fourteen out of 24 villages in the Shwe Kyat Yat village tract have flooded. Although the water level has stopped rising this week, we will have to be wary at least until next month," said U Than Aung, the 100-houses-group elder for Moe Kaung village. "At least 1000 houses have been affected by flooding and we're still making a list of victims and household numbers. We have to wait and see whether the water keeps rising. The river may rise again. Some flood victims are living in temporary tents on roads near their villages. Some have moved to their relatives' houses. Currently, there is no one to assist them. The most pressing need right now is clean drinking water. It would also be good if they get food than can be cooked easily," he said. "The danger level of the Ayeyarwady River near Mandalay city is 12.6 metres, and villages in Amarapura township that are located near the river suffer flooding annually. The Ayeyarwady River was about a metre below its danger level on July 14 and it increased a lot after July 18," said U Win Than Hlaing, head of the River Water Guard Office in Chan Aye Tharzan township, Mandalay city. "On Sunday, the water level was over 30 centimetres above the critical level and it only dropped a bit on Monday. As there are still strong rains expected in the northern part of the country, we need to remain cautious," said U Win Than Hlaing..."