Floods kill 104, affect 1.5 mn people in Cambodia

Floods from Mekong river and heavy rainfall have killed at least 104 people and affected about 1.5 million people in Cambodia in the last three weeks, a senior disaster control official said Wednesday.

"The latest figures showed that the floods have killed 104 people and affected around 1.5 million people in 20 flood-hit provinces," Nhim Vanda, vice president of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), told Xinhua over telephone.

He said that local authorities have been evacuating affected people to higher grounds as emergency relief from donors and the Cambodian Red Cross have been distributing to affected families.

Besides, some 250,000 hectares of rice paddy land have been inundated, he said, adding that more than 100 km of national roads and over 300 km of gravel roads have been damaged.

Nhim Vanda said that, as of Wednesday, water levels of the Mekong river no longer posed a concern to northeastern provinces, but flash floods still hit some provinces in northwestern provinces such as Battambang, Pailin, Oddar Meanchey and Banteay Meanchey. "This year's floods cost the country at a level that is similar to that in 2011," he said.

According to the NCDM, the 2011's floods killed up to 250 people and cost the country $521 million, mainly due to the damage of roads and paddy-growing land.

Floods usually hit Cambodia between August and October. Last year, the floods had killed only 14 people.