Flash Floods Inundate Northern Provinces

Flash floods from heavy rains in the Dangrek mountains have inundated tens of thousands of rice paddies and homes in the northern provinces, officials have reported.

The waters in Banteay Mean­chey province flooded 9,974 hectares of rice fields in Phnom Srok district, 7,800 hectares in Preah Net Preah district and 1,500 hectares in Mongkol Borei district, provincial Agricultural Director Heng Bunhor said.

“There were heavy rains about two weeks ago in upland regions of Oddar Meanchey province, so that’s why the water flow downstream has flooded the fields,” he said.

No deaths have been reported, officials said, but some segments of rural roads stretching from Phnom Srok to the Ang Trapaing Thmor reservoir, which is home to en­dangered cranes, have been washed away, Heng Bunhor said.

Parts of Banteay Meanchey still face drought or flooding, Gov­er­nor Thach Khorn said, but the floods had begun to recede by Wednesday. Thmar Puok and Svay Chek districts were still in drought conditions, he said.

All told, 23,628 hectares were affected by drought in the prov­ince, with more than 5,000 hec­tares completely wiped out, Heng Bunhor said.

Siem Reap province has also seen heavy rains and flash floods, officials reported. A Chi Kreng district official said the waters had washed away National Route 6 at eight separate points.

In Strong district, Kompong Thom province, about 5,754 hec­tares of paddy have been affected, 838 of them damaged, an agricultural official said.

The water level in Stung Sen district reached 13.35 meters, just be­low the 13.6-meter alert level that could threaten Kompong Thom town. Another four districts near the Tonle Sap lake have seen flooding, but there was no data available, officials reported.

Meanwhile, drought has also taken its toll on the north-central province. The Kompong Thom ag­ri­culture department has determined the province will face a rice shortage of 16,973 tons be­cause of the dry conditions.

National authorities are still as­ses­sing the damage from this year’s floods, but some officials have said the country’s drought—the worst since 1995—will probably wreak the most long-term hav­oc, causing harvests to plummet. According to government statistics, only 37 percent of rice fields had been sown before the floods struck.