Flash floods left hundreds of families trapped in their villages, destroyed properties and killed livestock in Ratanakkiri province’s Lumphat district Tuesday, officials said.
Heavy rain had softened the walls of a canal, which gave way to the pressure, according to Khlem Sovann, chief of Lbaing I commune, where the two affected villages are located.
“The rain fell heavily on Monday night, which caused a flash flood that was more than 1-meter deep in the villages. It affected roughly 500 homes and people were forced to climb on their roofs,” Mr. Sovann said.
Two wooden bridges were damaged as well as parts of National Road 6A, which connects Ratanakkiri and Mondolkiri provinces, leaving thousands of people cut off, he said.
The flash flood surprised villagers about 4 a.m., but no one was reported dead or missing.
“The flash flood didn’t result in any loss of life but it completely destroyed plantations, such as beans and cassava, along the Srepok River, while hundreds of livestock have also gone missing,” Mr. Sovann said, adding that the water had started to gradually recede by midday Tuesday.
Sam Sauth, a farmer in Lbaing I commune, said that he was woken up by the water rushing into his home and that he and his family had struggled to climb up the roof in time.
“Most of my property and livestock are gone,” Mr. Sauth said. For about eight hours, his family was holding out on the roof, while Mr. Sauth tried to save some of his household items.
“Now I am swimming to retrieve some of my property,” he said.
District governor Kong Srun on Tuesday afternoon said that the flooding had also reached Batang commune but damage there was not as severe because residents had been pre-warned.
“The flood is now just about 1-meter high so it didn’t destroy any residential homes but a lot of animals and livestock are gone,” Mr. Srun said.
He estimated that it would cost at least 25 million riel, or about $6,250, to repair the damage the flash flood had caused to the bridges.
