Floods Claim 39 Lives; Crops, Hundreds of Schools Damaged

The death toll from flooding across the country has risen to 39, while the Mekong River remains above emergency levels in Prey Veng and Kandal provinces, a government official said on Friday. Keo Vy, cabinet chief for the government’s National Committee for Disaster Management, said that the floods, which have largely affected riparian provinces, have also decimated crops. “About 131,259 families have been affected by severe flooding across the country,” he said. “Some 10,710 families were evacuated to higher ground, which is safer, 101,025 houses have flooded, 53 have been completely destroyed, and 39 people have died in the floods,” he added. So far, 115,003 hectares of rice paddy and 6,637 hectares of other crops have been damaged, along with 760 schools, 353 pagodas and 45 health centers, he said. … “The flooding has decreased in Phnom Penh and Kompong Cham province, but rain has flooded parts of Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear, Kompong Thom and Ratanakkiri provinces,” he said, adding that the Cambodian Red Cross has been offering help, along with NGOs. …

 Khy Sovuthy and Hul Reaksmey
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