Flooding in Cambodia which started last week have now affected 12 of the country’s 24 provinces, according to a statement by Cambodia’s National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM).
The floods first struck last week after heavy monsoon rainfall increased levels of the Mekong river and the Tonlé Sap lake and river area (see our report here). Initially 6 provinces were affected, but the flood situation has worsened over the last few days, with Kratie and Kompong Cham provinces being the worst hit.
The NCDM statement also said that 20 people have now been killed in the recent floods, and at least 8,000 families have been evacuated, over half of them in Kratie province.
Eight of the deaths occurred in Kompong Cham province, including 5 children. The other fatalities were in Kratie (4) Stung Treng (3), Prey Veng (2) Kandal (2) and Tbong Khmum (1).
So far the capital Phnom Penh has remained flood free but there are fears that the city could see some flooding should levels of the Mekong rise further.
