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Large parts of Myanmar have been hit Picture: UNICEF Myanmar

Millions of children in Myanmar were already missing out on school. Their families are poor and they face a bleak future.

Despite progress, 4.4 million children aged five to 18 do not attend school and 10 million live in poverty, according to 2014 census data from the southeast Asian country.

Last month the representative for the United Nations children�鶹APP�s agency in Myanmar told candidates in forthcoming historic elections �鶹APP�to make new commitments for children�鶹APP� to improve spending on education, health and social welfare.

Then the floods came. Cyclone Komen made landfall in Bangladesh on July 30 and then swept into Myanmar, bringing with it heavy rain, wind and landslides to a country already affected by weeks of monsoon rain. The water has devastated large areas and the education ministry said more than 1300 schools have been closed.

said up to 80,000 children are among more than 150,000 people affected. It has sent assessment teams to the worst affected parts of��Magway and Rakhine �鶹APP� two of four regions declared as disaster zones.

Catastrophic floods in Myanmar hit the most vulnerable, including children �鶹APP� aid agencies

�鶹APP� United Nations (@UN)

Jose Ravano, Acting Country Director for Save The Children in Myanmar, said today: �鶹APP�This disaster has left tens of thousands of children vulnerable and we are particularly concerned for their welfare and safety as whole regions have been left under water. Children may be in distress due to the displacement and destruction, and some have fled their homes without any essential supplies.�鶹APP�

He said Save The Children teams had to be to areas of Rakhine State and Magway Division, adding that at least 14,000 families there have been affected. Schools are shut, families have been displaced and homes are flooded.

Mr Ravano added: �鶹APP�Families who have lost their livelihoods will also need long-term recovery support and schools will need rehabilitation.�鶹APP�

The death toll has been put at 47 by the government but that number is expected to rise.

UNICEF warned of a �鶹APP�double catastrophe�鶹APP�, saying already vulnerable children face particular hardships because the floods will add to the existing problems of poverty, violence and conflict.

Children with their family at an evacuation camp in Sagaing region

UNICEF�鶹APP�s Deputy Representative in Myanmar Shalini Bahuguna said:���鶹APP�The floods are hitting children and families who are already very vulnerable, including��those living in camps in Rakhine state.

�鶹APP�There are 140,000 displaced children and families in Rakhine alone.�鶹APP� Beyond the immediate impact, the floods will have a longer term impact on the livelihoods��of these families.�鶹APP�

Schools are among buildings being used as safe shelters for those who have fled the flooding.

The government, local authorities, Myanmar Red Cross Society and other organisations �鶹APP� backed by UN agencies and other international bodies �鶹APP� are working to rescue survivors and distribute vital supplies such as water, food and blankets.

A World at School has been at the forefront of a campaign to establish a funding mechanism to help education in emergencies.��Last year only 1% of all humanitarian aid went to education in emergencies, which includes conflicts and natural disasters.

At the in July,��the Global Humanitarian Platform and Fund for Education in Emergencies was agreed. World leaders decided to move forward on developing a system to improve how aid is provided in emergencies and urgently address the gap in funding.