Loeuk Dek district authorities in Kandal province on May 24 inspected a site where a riverbank had collapsed and damaged 26 houses and to provide assistance to victims. The incident happened on May 23 in front of Prek Dach pagoda in Prek Dach commune’s Prek Dach village.
District governor Chap Chanvithya told The Post on May 24 that authorities and the provincial Red Cross were helping people affected by the collapse.
“There are no solid structures there, only small houses made of wood, concrete and some have zinc roofs. But the structures were not strongly constructed, and they were built many years ago,” he said.
According to Chanvithya, the riverbank collapses every year. This year the ground erosion was more than 30m long and 4m wide.
According to district police chief Ham Thou, the collapse occurred at 2:30pm.
District police had assisted residents in removing their belongings to a safe place a day before the incident.
“Houses would be affected, so we intervened and assisted people. We helped them dismantle their houses and remove their belongings. We achieved this one day before the collapse because people told us the ground was cracking. When we heard this, we instructed people to evacuate the area,” he said.
According to Thou, only houses that had not been dismantled were damaged. Local authorities had warned residents to be on watch for a collapse.
“The reason for the collapse is that it happened a few years ago, and there is a strong river current at this place causing the banks to collapse frequently, but we cannot predict when it will happen,” he said.
