Some 8,000 families in Stung Treng province have been affected by heavy flooding as the Mekong and Sekong Rivers surged beyond emergency levels on Sunday. This resulted in 2,210 families fleeing to higher ground, Stung Treng Provincial Hall spokesman Men Kong said.

“Authorities have focused their attention on rescuing people and moving them to higher ground as we provide food and medicine. Provincial authorities have deployed health staff and placed medical specialists on standby to provide round-the-clock treatment and education for residents,” Kong said.

The stretch of the Mekong River passing through Stung Treng province had reached a level of 11.82m. The province has set 10.7m as the limit before an emergency is declared.

The Sekong River requires an emergency declaration when the water level reaches 11.5m in Stung Treng province. And it has already reached as high 11.82m there.

The Stung Treng Municipal Hall was unable to provide figures regarding damage the floods had done to crops and the city’s infrastructure as of Sunday. However, Kong said low lying areas in Stung Treng town and six districts there have been completely submerged.

National Committee for Disaster Management first vice-president Kun Kim called on relevant authorities to direct their attention to assisting residents.

Emergency declarations were also issued in Kratie and Kampong Cham provinces as the Mekong River water level rose beyond emergency levels in those provinces too, the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology’s reported on Sunday.

The Kingdom has been pummelled by a pair of powerful storms which poured rain over the Mekong River Basin since the end of August.

At least four deaths have been reported since September 3, including a seven-year-old boy in Kampong Chhnang province who was washed away while playing in a flooded paddy field.