Disasters and emergency response

The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology issued a strong weather warning yesterday for coastal, plains and plateau areas, from yesterday to June 5, especially along coastal areas where the ocean swell is expected to reach one to two-and-a-half meters. ...

With rain finally starting to fall across the country, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday declared an end to the relief campaign he launched last month to counter the worst drought in decades, calling the devastating dry spell an opportunity for “lessons” in governance. ...

The government’s two-month nationwide campaign to distribute water to those affected by drought officially ended yesterday, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced while speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Asia-Europe University in Phnom Penh. ...

Defence Minister Tea Banh will lead a delegation of about 10 other senior military officials to Vientiane, Laos, to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting from May 24 to 27, which will focus on regional cooperation in defence technology and natural-disaster response. ...

As Cambodia continues its battle against raging thunderstorms and stifling droughts, officials from a variety of ministries attended a three-day workshop last week on how to incorporate the wide-ranging effects of climate change into the national and provincial budgeting process.   ...

The Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) donated $1 million to the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospitals on Monday.   ...

Behind a clutch of huts that hug the major route between Cambodia’s capital and its famed Angkor temples, rice farmers Phem Phean and Sok Khoert peer into a cement hollow.   ...

The country’s political and business elite dug deep into their pockets on Sunday for the Cambodian Red Cross’ (CRC) annual fundraising drive in Phnom Penh, contributing a total of $13.43 million during an event marking World Red Cross Day.   ...

At least two people were killed in a violent tempest that battered the country on Thursday evening, tearing roofs off buildings and damaging hundreds of homes.   ...

Around 500,000 Cambodians who face water shortages still have not received government assistance since drought relief efforts began on April 26, according to the National Committee for Disaster Management.   ...

Fires have consumed more than 2,000 hectares of Prek Toal protected area in Battambang, killing some animals and destroying the breeding sites of multiple endangered species, Prek Toal project managers said yesterday. ...

Conservationists are expressing concern that some of the Kingdom’s endangered birds are not reproducing this year due to extreme heat stress, inability to find enough food and habitat loss from wildfires and human encroachment. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen called for a continuation of the national effort to distribute water to those in need yesterday, instructing all provincial governors to stay in their provinces until the water crisis is over.   ...

The number of dead fish found in Kampong Thom’s protected Tonle Chhmar Lake climbed higher over the weekend – nearly 70 tons of fish have now died since the first were found by provincial fishery officials on April 23.   ...

More than 1,200 houses and buildings were affected and more than 70 people died or were injured by rainstorms and lightning in the first four months of 2016, according to Keo Vy, Cabinet director and a spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM). ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen once again appealed to citizens to help distribute water to those suffering from the worst drought in over 50 years, during a speech at a graduation ceremony yesterday. ...

The Ministry of Health expects a dangerous year for diseases and heat trauma as a result of the extreme weather that the Kingdom is experiencing, according to a series of public statements this week.   ...

After nearly seventy tons of fish were found dead in the protected Tonle Chhmar Lake in Kampong Thom over the weekend, efforts are now underway to save the remaining fish from perishing in the high temperatures, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen announced the launch of a nationwide water distribution campaign yesterday as the country deals with the heartbreaking effects of a drought, calling on all state and private institutions, as well as the Cambodian Red Cross, to help out. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen took to Facebook on Friday to call on citizens to use water sparingly amid the worst drought in decades, also explaining that the government was trucking water to those most in need. ...

Tons of dead fish were found in the protected Tonle Chhmar Lake on Saturday, according to Ministry of Agriculture officials. The lake is a wildlife sanctuary on the edge of the Tonle Sap river in Kampong Thom’s Peam Bang commune. ...

The Kampot provincial authority started distributing clean water yesterday to drought-stricken villagers in several districts who do not have enough water for drinking and their basic daily needs such as cooking. ...

The reconstruction of the Stung Treng market, which was destroyed in a massive fire that was sparked in a jewelry shop on April 7, started yesterday, according to provincial officials. ...

Four children were injured and 136 homes were damaged in tempestuous weather conditions that thrashed villages on opposite sides of the country on Sunday, officials said on Monday.   ...