Cambodia's flood kills 28, affect 73,600 families

Floods has killed at least 28 people, including 16 children, and affected 73,600 families in Cambodia in the last two weeks, a disaster control official said Sunday. Some 7,900 families have been forced to flee their houses for higher grounds as more than 62,000 houses, 385 schools and 245 Buddhist pagodas are inundated, Keo Vy, chief of the Cabinet of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), said. Ten out of the kingdom's 24 cities and provinces are being hit by the Mekong River and flash floods, he said. "As water still continue to rise, there will be more people affected and evacuated in coming days," he told Xinhua. He said tourism city Siem Reap-Angkor is also being hit by flash floods due to heavy rainfall in the last two days, but floodwaters may not last for long time. Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday ordered authorities to closely monitor flood situation and prepare to evacuate affected people to safe grounds. He said the impact of low pressure system and tropical storm Wutip has been causing heavy rainfall in the Mekong River basin and in Cambodia. "The government would like to advise concerned ministries and authorities to be on high alert and prepare rescue measures to evacuate people to safe grounds so that fatalities and property damage by floods will be reduced," he said in a directive. Floods usually hit Cambodia between August and October. In 2011, the country was hit the worst from floods, killing up to 250 people, according to the NCDM. Last year, floods killed only 14 people.