Flood death toll rises to 45 in Cambodia

Shanghai Daily | August 21, 2014

At least 45 people in Cambodia have died and thousands of families have been evacuated from homes to higher grounds in floods caused by monsoon rains and rivers overflowing their banks, a senior official said Thursday.

"In the past three weeks, floods have claimed 45 lives in Cambodia," Nhim Vanda, first Vice President of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), said during a flood damage assessment meeting.

Twelve of the country's 25 cities and provinces have suffered from flooding, he said, adding that the floods have affected 94, 600 families and forced 11,590 families to leave their homes.

Vanda added that some 12,700 hectares of rice seedlings and crops have been destroyed.

Flooding usually hits Cambodia between August and October. Last year, it killed 168 people and affected other 1.8 million people, according to the NCDM.

Source: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=236615