It’s getting tougher for Prime Minister Hun Sen to keep up with the flooding. He was scheduled to spend Monday at Batheay district, Kompong Cham province, handing out rice seed to help mark World Food Day.
Instead, he ended up at Kompong Speu town, where flash floods have covered portions of National Route 4 and driven nearly 500 families from their homes.
The prime minister ordered 500 specially-trained soldiers from the army, navy and military police to search for and rescue flood victims. He said he was determined to provide the army with emergency equipment before next year’s flood season.
In Siem Reap town the river briefly rose over and flooded streets in the downtown area, said second deputy provincial governor Suy San, but was back within its banks Monday.
At the Batheay district ceremony, Kompong Cham provincial Governor Chieng Am estimated more than 41,000 hectares of rice paddies have been destroyed in the province.
Relief workers from the Food and Agricultural Organization and World Food Program handed out seed meant to be planted in the upcoming dry rice season.
Nov Saly, a 30-year-old farmer with one hectare of land near Thboung Phnom village, has lost his entire harvest to flood waters. He said he had already bought some rice seed, but not enough to make up for his loss.
“I think this donation could help us with our difficulties,” he said, patiently waiting in line for his free seed.
