Saturday, 16 October 2010

Flooding near Cambodian capital forces preparations for mass evacuation

via CAAI

By The Associated Press (CP)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Several thousand people living on the outskirts of Phnom Penh have been told to prepare for a mass evacuation as unusually heavy rains continue.

Keo Vy, a disaster relief official, said Friday at least four people died as a result of heavy rains since Monday and some 13 provinces are facing flooding problems. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen appealed to citizens to pay close attention to the possibility of floods, and ordered officials to be ready to help victims.

A letter from the capital city's authorities released to the press Friday said the level of the Prek Thnoat River, located west and southwest of Phnom Penh, has been rising significantly.

"Therefore, our brothers and sisters must get ready and prepare all kinds of means of transportation for evacuating your children and animals to the safe areas in a timely fashion," said the statement, originally issued Thursday night.

Motorboats, tools and several thousand sandbags, tools and motorboats have been prepared to help the villagers, along with more than 1,000 soldiers put on standby. Greater Phnom Penh is home to an estimated 1.5 million people, but only a few thousand — no exact figure was available — are immediately threatened with evacuation.

The Ministry of Water Resource and Meteorology has issued two announcements this week saying that virtual nonstop rain due to a tropical depression was expected to last at least until early next week.

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