OCHA Situation Report No. 1
Cambodia - Floods
30 August 2001


Situation and Damage

1.  This year's monsoon rainfall has caused floods in the Mekong River
Basin region, affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in
Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Thailand.
Cambodia is the worst affected country.  With a total population of about
10.7 million, it is one of the most disaster-prone countries in Asia and
has been frequently affected by floods.  Floods usually occur during the
South-West Monsoon season from August to November and about 25 % of the
plains are flooded annually by the Mekong River and its tributaries and by
local downpours. Last year, Cambodia experienced more serious floods than
in the previous years and this year's floods have so far caused
considerably less damage than last year's floods.  This is in part due to
the extensive community based disaster preparedness work following last
year's floods, which has succeeded in mitigating the impact of the current
flooding.

2.  As of 29 August 2001, the Cambodian National Committee for Disaster
Management (NCDM), which is closely monitoring the flood situation in
consultation with the UN Disaster Management Team (UN-DMT), estimates that
560,133 people have been affected by the floods and reportedly, at least
35 people have died.  An estimated 135,124 people have had to evacuate
their homes and seek to higher ground and are in need of emergency food
aid, according to the NCDM.  An estimated 56,327 hectares of rice crops
have been destroyed and 157,809 hectares of rice have been damaged. 15
health centres and 133 schools have been partially damaged, as well as 14
bridges and 120 kilometres of national and secondary road.

3.  Though the water levels in upstream areas, i.e. Stung Treng, Kratie
and Kampong Cham, have exceeded last year's record level, they have also
fallen more quickly.  So far the cost of the damage is estimated at USD 15
million.  The cost of last year's floods totalled USD 161 million.


National and International Response

4.  The Cambodian Government has started the distribution of food aid.
According to the NCDM, the Government distributed 400 MT of rice to the
affected population today.  The Government has also mobilised water tanks
for the provision of drinking water.

5.  The Cambodian Prime Minister has called on the national and
international community to asssist the affected population.

6.  On 27 August, the UN-DMT met to review the flood situation and the
second UN-DMT meeting is scheduled for next week to evaluate developments
and response. The UN-DMT is actively supporting the NCDM with joint
assessments and is closely monitoring the situation.

7.  IFRC is closely monitoring the flood situation and plans to launch an
appeal early next week.  The appeal will focus mainly on providing water
and sanitation facilities to the displaced population at the 44 safe areas
that were designated and prepared by the Cambodian Red Cross Society
(CRCS) and the Ministry of Rural Development after last year's floods.
On 27 August IFRC, CRCS and the Belgian Red Cross carried out a first
relief distribution of rice, clothing, sleeping mats and shelter materials
for 1,500 families in Kampong Cham.  They are also procuring six thousand
emergency household kits, along with 6,000 sets of additional relief
items.

8.  OCHA is in close contact with the UN in-country team in Phnom Penh,
and will revert with further information, as it becomes available.

9.  This situation report, together with further information on ongoing
emergencies, is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at
http://www.reliefweb.int


Telephone: +41-22-91712 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers:
  Mr. F. Gentiloni / Mr. R. Mueller / Mr. S. Matsuka / Mr. K. Quiding
  Direct Tel. +41-22-917 3512 / 3131 / 4034 / 1769

Press contact:
  (GVA) Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, direct Tel. +41-22-917 26 53
  (NYC) Ms. Phyllis Lee, direct Tel. +1-212-963 48 32


distributed by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International Disaster Information
Volunteers in Technical Assistance
                                          web: www.cidi.org
                                     listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
comments/suggestions/requests to incident@cidi.org