DPA
Phnom Penh – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Thursday it would provide 3 million dollars to help Cambodia recover from its worst floods in more than a decade.
The grant is to be used to purchase rice seed and food for those affected, and to fund cash-for-work schemes to repair damaged roads and irrigation canals, ADB’s senior country economist Peter Brimble said in a statement.
Many roads and buildings have suffered damage in recent weeks.
‘The severe flooding has had a dramatic impact on the livelihoods of the Cambodian population, especially poor farmers in remote areas,’ Brimble said.
‘Many communities are in urgent need of assistance to reconnect with supply centres and to rebuild their lives.’
Around 80 per cent of the population lives in rural areas, where most eke out a subsistence living by growing rice.
The government said on November 1 that 247 people have died in flood-related incidents, and that another 23 sustained injuries.
The rice crop has been severely effected.
More than 283,000 hectares of rice fields have been destroyed, Ma Norith, head of the information department at the National Committee on Disaster Management (NCDM), told dpa. A further 431,000 hectares of rice fields have been damaged.
Norith said nearly 52,000 people have been evacuated to higher ground.
The floods are Cambodia’s worst since 2000, when more than 370 people died.
Cambodia’s neighbours have also struggled from the heavy monsoon. Thailand has suffered its worst floods in decades, with waters killing 437 people and inundating 26 provinces, including parts of Bangkok.
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