Heads above water
Though authorities have called on residents to move to higher ground, those in some of the worst flooded areas of Cambodia said yesterday that they had neither the means nor the ability to do so. Instead, they said, they will remain in their rapidly flooding homes and hope the level remains manageable.
Several Kandal families have sought refuge for their cows, erecting makeshift bamboo stables along the national highway, but in the evening, many of the residents opt to wade their way back through chest-high water to their homes. …
The flood has already claimed 41 lives, and 14 of 24 provinces in the country have been affected, according to Keo Vy, spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management. Across the country, 30,442 houses and 32,577 hectares of rice paddy have been submerged. …
The lower Mekong Neak Luong water station clocked 7.59 metres today, or just above the emergency level, while the Koh Khel water station on the Tonle Bassac river reached 7.78 metres, or emergency level, according to a weather and flood situation report from the Ministry of Water Resource and Meteorology.
In Kien Svay district’s Phoum Thom commune alone, 1,534 houses and 121.5 hectares of agriculture were flooded in the past two weeks.
In Phnom Penh, meanwhile, 160 families living along the riverbank in Meanchey district were evacuated this weekend, according to City Hall spokesman Long Dimanche. …
Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Laignee Barron
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/heads-above-water
