A boy in Kompong Thom province Sunday became the second reported victim of flooding that has affected an estimated 50,000 people nationwide, officials said Monday, dramatically revising initial reports of the impact of last week’s tropical storm.
The 3-year-old boy drowned beneath his stilt house in Prasat Sambor district Sunday while his parents were away from home, Provincial Governor Nam Tum said. “This is sad. His family’s rice fields have flooded and the boy died,” he said, adding that he did not know the name of the boy or his village.
Last week, a woman drowned in a Preah Vihear province rice field after she was overwhelmed by fast-moving floodwaters, officials said.
In Kompong Thom province alone, an estimated 12,000 houses in four districts are now flooded by rivers swelled with water flowing from Preah Vihear, Nam Tum said. “There are 18,000 hectares of rice field underwater and 12,000 families affected,” he said.
Cambodian Red Cross Deputy President Ouk Damry said Monday the flooding has affected nearly 16,000 families, or around 50,000 people, nationwide.
“Our update today is 15,793 families. We will be making more updates later,” Ouk Damry said, adding that the CRC has already sent 10 tons of rice to feed people in Stung Treng and 84 tons to Kompong Thom.
The National Committee for Disaster Management is responsible for deploying aid to other affected provinces, Ouk Damry said.
Ly Thuch, second deputy president of the NCDM, said he did not know how much food was needed in those provinces—which include Ratanakkiri, Preah Vihear, Kratie and Koh Kong.
He added that the floodwater is now receding in the northern provinces.
“People have already begun returning to their homes [in the north],” Ly Thuch said, adding that he believed the thousands of hectares of rice paddy now flooded would emerge unscathed.
Ratanakkiri Provincial Governor Muong Poy said affected areas in his province are returning to normal. “The flood situation is better. The floodwaters have receded,” he said. “We can control the situation.”
