Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alert - Cambodia - No 1/2000 Worst Floods in Decades . . . Evacuations Imminent Geneva, 15 September, 2000
Heavy rains since early July this year have caused widespread flooding in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. At least 82 persons have lost their lives in the worst flooding Cambodia has seen in decades with 13 of its 23 provinces being severely affected. All monitoring stations along the Mekong River in Cambodia are reporting levels rising above the danger mark. As a result a state of emergency has been declared in three provinces, including Phnom Penh. The water level at Chaktomuk, the point where the Mekong, Bassac and Sap rivers converge in Phnom Penh has reached nearly 37 feet and is expected to climb even higher. An official from the national water board has confirmed that at around 38 feet, the water will spill into the streets. Boats and helicopters are being prepared for evacuations should the city, or large parts of it become submerged. Flooding in provinces along the Mekong River has left more than 42,000 families homeless and destroyed more than US$ 9-million in crops. Thousands of soldiers and police have been utilised to help fortify the Mekong's banks with sandbags. ACT member, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Cambodia has received requests for assistance from the Cambodia Red Cross Society and expects to receive details of the type of assistance needed within the next days. LWF-Cambodia is also awaiting reports from their project areas. ACT CO has contacted ACT member, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) working in Vietnam who have confirmed that there is serious flooding in south Vietnam along the Mekong Delta (outside their area of operations), but local authorities appear to be coping with the situation at present. NCA will continue to monitor the situation and will keep ACT CO updated. Depending upon the reports and requested assistance, an ACT appeal may be forthcoming. Thank you for your attention. For further information please contact: ACT Co-ordinator, Thor-Arne Prois (phone ++41 22 791 6033 or mobile phone ++ 41 79 203 6055) or ACT Appeals Officer, Neville Pradhan (phone ++41 22 791 6035 or mobile phone ++41 79 285 2916) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency response. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ecumenical Centre Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33 150, route de Ferney Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06 1211 Geneva 2 Telex: 415 730 OIK CH Switzerland http://www.act-intl.org distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance Disaster Information Center lists: www.vita.org/listsub.htm sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -