YANGON: At least 46 people have died in landslides triggered by heavy rain in western Myanmar near the border with Bangladesh,

Bridges, homes and other buildings were damaged after record rainfall of more than 13 inches (33 centimetres).

The landslides swept away huts on hillsides. Some areas have seen floods as high as two feet (60 centimetres) after several days of torrential rain, the report said.

Landslides caused by heavy rains are not uncommon in Myanmar owing to deforestation.

The hardest-hit area, Teknaf, is home to hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

Across the border in southeastern Bangladesh, at least 55 people have been killed and thousands more left homeless after the heaviest rain in decades triggered flash floods and landslides, according to police there.