Unseasonable weather has wreaked havoc this week, bringing floods to Sihanoukville and Poipet and leaving one dead from a lightning strike in Koh Kong province, officials confirmed yesterday.

Koh Kong’s Sre Ambel district police chief, Mar Ty, said that on Monday afternoon 49-year-old Sing Hoeun, of Kampong Sdam village, was fishing on a boat one kilometre offshore when he was struck by lightning, the third such death so far this year.

Meanwhile, the director of Preah Sihanouk’s provincial information office, Or Saroeun, said that roads and homes in Sihanoukville’s Commune 1 were flooded after a five-hour downpour.

“This flooding is caused from the drainage system in that area being blocked by the waste and mud, however now provincial and local authorities have made an effort to resolve it,” he said.

Separately, Poipet town Governor San Sean Ho said that the unexpected rains have also highlighted drainage-related issues.

“When the rain comes, some roads and homes of the people in the lowland area flooded because of the blocked drainage system,” he said, noting that authorities paid for a water pump to relieve the affected areas.

Mao Hak, spokesman for the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, attributed the turbulent weather to global climate change.

“Everything is changing because of climate change,” he said.

According to Hak, more rain is expected early next month and a cold snap will continue through the weekend at least.