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CAMBODIA-FLOOD
Mekong floods kill 6, force nearly 5,000 families to evacuate in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Aug 6, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) – Six Cambodians have died so far and
nearly 5,000 families have evacuated to higher grounds after Mekong floods
hit five provinces along the river, a disaster control spokesman said on
Monday.
Keo Vy, a spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management
(NCDM), said the provinces of Stung Treng, Kratie, Tboung Khmum, Kampong Cham
and Prey Veng have suffered from the Mekong overflow since late last month.
“At least six people, including four children, were reportedly died of
drownings, as 4,929 families have evacuated to safer ground,” he told Xinhua,
adding that the floods also inundated about 18,255 hectares of rice paddy and
crops.
He said the Cambodian Red Cross has actively distributed relief goods to
those flood-hit families since last week.
Floods usually hit Cambodia between late July and October. In 2011, the
Southeast Asian country suffered the worst from flooding, which killed up to
250 people, according to the NCDM.
BSS/XINHUA/SSS/2000 hrs