This is the extraordinary moment a Buddhist temple in central Myanmar was swallowed by rising floodwaters after heavy monsoon rain.

Onlookers can be heard crying as the temple begins sinking into a river, with the pagoda's golden domed roof eventually completely disappearing under the water.

More from IBTimes UK

The structure was built in 2009 and slipped into the raging waters of the Irrawaddy River, near the township of Pakokku, on Thursday (20 July).

Heavy rainfall since early July has caused flooding across large parts of Myanmar, displacing more than 100,000 people and causing two deaths.

The abbot at the pagoda, U Pyinnya Linkkara, said flooding was common in the area during the monsoon that runs from May to October, but added that this year's floods had caused significant erosion.

Some riverside villages have been washed away entirely, he said.

"The villagers are now scared to live here," he told Reuters. "The flooding has now decreased, but erosion continues."

One man drowned in the floods in the Sagaing region while another was swept away while crossing a stream in Chin state, officials said.

"The situation is under control, but what happens now will depend on the weather," Ko Ko Naing, director general of the ministry of social welfare, relief and resettlement, told Reuters.

"We are prepared to support the flood-hit areas because flooding happens every year."

The Myanmar government had provided food and other assistance to a total of 116,817 displaced people by Monday.

Myanmar ranks first as the "most at risk" country in Asia, according to the UN Risk Model.

The country is vulnerable to a wide range of hazards, including floods, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis.