New Flood Warning Issued For S Treng, Kratie Provinces

The Ministry of Water Resources issued another flood warning yesterday after Cambodia was again hit by heavy rains, government officials said.

Water levels in the Mekong River are forecasted to rise over the next four or five days, which will cause the river to reach emergency levels in Stung Treng and Kratie pro­vinces, according to the ministry. The Bassac and Tonle Sap river ba­sins are also expected to flood. 

“The Ministry of Water Resour­ces has already issued a warning to expect high levels in the Mekong River,” Ministry of Water Resources cabinet chief Chan Youttha said.

Mr Youttha added that tropical storm Nock-ten has left Cam­bodia, but there are still heavy rains in coastal, north and northeastern provinces.

According to the warning, the Me­kong now stands at 2.15 meters below the emergency level in Stung Treng province, 3.31 meters below in Kratie and 2.47 meters below in Kompong Cham. In Phnom Penh, in front of the Royal Palace, water levels are 2.80 meters below emergency levels.

“Even though the waters…are lower than emergency levels, the forecast says rivers will continue to rise for the next four or five days, so the water levels in Stung Treng and Kratie will approach emergency situations,” the warning states.

“Authorities should alert people who live near the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers to harvest their crops immediately and be aware of flooding in order to avoid danger,” the warning adds.

Stung Treng governor Loy So­phat said that he received the flood warning and passed the information on to local authorities and villagers.

“For the first step, we passed this information to…villagers so that they can be advised and avoid any danger,” he said.

Mr Sophat added that authorities would organize the police and the Red Cross to distribute emergency food supplies if the villagers were affected.

“Of course, this is the cultivation season. So if it floods now, it will affect the villagers’ planting and damage their crops,” he said.

 

Related Stories

Latest News