BANGKOK, May 30, 2010 (IPS) - With monsoon rains beginning to sweep across mainland south-east Asia, mobile phones are being put to further use as part of a plan to protect communities living on the banks of the Mekong River from flash floods.
Riverbank communities in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have been supplied with 120 mobile phones and trained to monitor the rising tide of the Mekong, which swells with a larger volume of water as the monsoon deepens by August.
The use of the mobile phones to strengthen greater community participation in reducing flood risks is part of an ongoing trial by the Mekong River Commissions (MRC), an intergovernmental body based in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The initiative that began in 2008 and is due for expansion aims "to get potentially affected people more involved in flood preparedness," states the MRC.
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