Floods anticipated as rains set to continue for next week

A car struggles to pass through flooded streets of Phnom Penh. Sreng Meng Srun

Tue, 3 October 2017

Khouth Sophak Chakrya

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Heavy rains are forecast nationwide until October 10, a continuation of weather patterns that have brought flooding to the capital in recent days and stoked the ire of Phnom Penh Governor Khoung Sreng.

During an inauguration ceremony for the new governor of Sen Sok district, Sreng yesterday lamented the country’s lack of drainage infrastructure.

“I have said for the third time! The experts have to be sent to measure and then display a banner,” he said, which would signal to residents how high they can expect water to rise near a canal or river during flooding.

“If we do not work on it, soon enough, our city will host 5 million people – can we drain the water out?” he asked.

National Committee for Disaster Management spokesman Keo Vy yesterday said Sen Sok, Por Sen Chey and Dangkor districts were especially prone to flooding, but that municipal authorities and the Ministry of Water Resources “are jointly solving this problem”.

Vy said a team would today inspect provinces prone to flooding surrounding the Tonle Sap basin. He also said that in some areas, river levels have been receding and reservoirs were becoming worryingly low.