A severe tropical storm has left a Burmese town submerged in knee-deep floods.

Residents of Pyin Oo Lwin town in Myanmar's Mandalay region salvaged what they could of their belongings, and are seen crossing the brown deluge on July 31.

Some of them had to cling onto a rope to avoid being swept away by the torrents.

Local media reported that village officials are distributing food and rice to affected areas while evacuating the sick and elderly to safety.

Myanmar and other countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines are at the start of their tropical monsoon rainy season, which lasts until late November.

High humidity levels and soaring temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius are often followed by powerful tropical storms with thunder, lightning, rain and flash floods which cause rivers to flow faster and become dangerous.