kompong trach district, Kampot province – Farmers whose houses were flattened by a violent storm last week began building make-shift shelters on Wednesday, as many worried the worst storms are yet to come.
Manh Khon, recounted how the sky darkened just before the storm hit on July 2, which authorities say knocked down 194 houses in three villages in Prek Kreus commune.
Winds caused roofs and debris to take flight, Manh Khon, 43, said as he helped neighbors rebuild.
“When I see the dark sky like this, I feel very afraid,” Manh Khon said as he looked to an overcast sky Wednesday.
On the afternoon of June 2, the rains came and winds swirled through the village like most villagers here said they had never seen before.
Two people died and 679 houses were destroyed in Kampot province by storms on June 1 and June 2, said UK Lay, director of the Kampot Red Cross branch.
One person died when a house collapsed and another was killed by lightning, he said Thursday.
Uk Lay said that Kampot Red Cross planned to provide aid to 499 families in Kompong Trach and Dang Tong districts on Satur-day. But he appealed for more donations from the public.
A typhoon in the southern China fueled the monsoon rains and gusty winds that were especially strong in the lowlands, said Seth Vannareth, director of the Meteorology Department at the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology.
In Koh Takov, Koh Tnort and Preah Trohoeng villages, people were injured by flying debris and one person was knocked unconscious by lightning, said Sek Chin, Prek Kreus commune chief. Three hectares of watermelon crops were also destroyed.
Koh Takov villagers said they feared more people would have been hurt if the storm had struck at night.
Villager, Chaing Sorn, 57, said it was the most violent storm he had seen here. Villager Bin Bros’ house was reduced to only a skeleton covered by a blue tarp Wednesday, after winds tore off the roof, blowing it hundreds of meters away.
“It was the worst storm,” he said, as he chiseled wooden pillars to support the roof of a new home.
