Myitkyina sits in Myanmar’s northern or eastern mountains, where steep terrain and the summer monsoon combine to produce some of the country’s heaviest rainfall and its greatest flash-flood and landslide risk.
Kachin State’s capital sits where the Ayeyarwady River’s two headstreams converge, making it one of the first places the river’s monsoon rise is felt. Because water draining off these mountains can reach valley towns and rivers very quickly, radar tracking of storm cells is especially important here, where warning time can be shorter than in the flatter lowlands. Learn more: Flash Flood Warning Signs on Radar · Open the full Rain Map