An inundated village near Stung Sen River in Kampong Thom province seen on August 19. KAMPONG THOM ADMINISTRATION
Officials said the Stung Sen River water levels in Kampong Thom province have finally begun to drop after exceeding the alert level late last week, but warned of more rain in the coming days.
He Koeun, director of the provincial Department of Water Resources and Meteorology, told The Post on the afternoon of August 21 that the Stung Sen water level had dropped by 6cm to 13.52m. The water remained above the alert level.
“Depending on the weather conditions and the current trend of the water current, the water level looks likely to fall further this week,” he said.
However, provincial governor Nguon Rattanak called on people to remain vigilant and ordered officials to cooperate with local authorities.
“Although the water has receded slightly, it is still at a dangerous level. We must be vigilant and be prepared to offer assistance should it be needed,” he said.
In early August, flash floods from the Srepok River in Ratanakiri province inundated the homes of more than 400 families in Lumphat and Kon Mom districts. More than 300 families were evacuated as floodwaters and rivers on the Cambodian-Thai border in Banteay Meanchey province inundated some homes in downtown Poipet and Malai districts.
Intervention teams from the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) worked with provincial authorities to rescue people from the affected areas and rehabilitate the roads and bridges that were damaged by the floods, said NCDM spokesman Soth Kimkolmony.
“At this time, the floods do not pose a serious risk. No one has been killed or injured thanks to our timely intervention,” he said.
Separately, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos will organise joint military exercises in early September to exchange technical experience on flood rescue operations, according to Moeng Samphan, secretary of state of the Ministry of National Defence.
“The exercises will focus on the recovery and rehabilitation of physical infrastructure which id damaged by floods,” he said.
He said the weeklong exercise, scheduled to begin on September 6, will be held in Laos.
