Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Cambodia's flood death toll reaches 164

Oct 4, 2011
(Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH -- The death toll from the Mekong River and flash floods in Cambodia has reached 164 people by Tuesday morning, Keo Vy, cabinet chief and spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management, said on Tuesday.

He said that according to the reports, since early August, the flash and Mekong River floods have inundated 15 cities and provinces and had killed 164 people.

The number of flood-affected people has increased to 215,662 families and up to 291,000 hectares of rice paddies have been affected, he told Xinhua.

On the public infrastructure side, the floods have affected more than 200 kilometers of national roads and up to 2,019 kilometers of gravel roads.

"It's the worst flood in Cambodia in the last decade," he said.

He added that in 2000, the country suffered similar floods, killing 347 people, but at that time, the impacts on people, rice paddy and roads were small.

Keo Vy said that as of Tuesday, floods have receded in most flooded provinces, but the water level is still continuing rising in Mekong River, especially in Stung Treng province, Kratie province and Phnom Penh.

No comments: