Floods in upper Mekong dropping rapidly, but no relief for Vietnam
PHNOM PENH -
Flood levels in the upper Mekong River were rapidly receding Friday as officials in Cambodia announced the worst was over
despite there being little evidence of relief in the swollen Vietnam delta.
The death toll in the Mekong delta rice bowl of Vietnam rose to 50 with flood waters showing no sign of abating from their
highest levels in 40 years as torrents flushed down from further north in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.
Despite the rising toll in Cambodia, where 137 people have died, officials said the worst appeared to be over as heavy rains in
the north and in Southern Laos had let up, allowing water levels in the Mekong to drop by half a meter in 24 hours.
"The crisis point is over now. People should not worry as the water is receding rapidly," Cambodian Minsiter of Water
Resources and Meteorology Lim Kean Hor told AFP.
"I have just received a report from Laos to say that the heavy rain has abated. Though it is still raining here, it is not enough to
raise the flood levels any further," he said.
"The forecast is for the water to keep receding up river while the water levels down river will recede but at a much slower
pace."
In Stung Treng province where the Mekong rolls accross the border from Laos its level has fallen to 9.80 meters (32.2 feet), a
drop of almost half a meter in 24 hours.
Further down river in the capital Phnom Penh the fall in the river level has been a less spectacular two centimeters.
But as waters have begun to recede, the damage done by the flooding has become more apparent.
In flood-struck northeastern Thailand, near the city of Khon Kaen, several large bridges had washed out and were sunk into
rivers, and a number of houses could be seen sliding into the water, an AFP reporter witnessed.
In the most up-to-date statistics, the Thai ministry of interior said that 47 people have died so far in that country, and 2.6 million
people have been affected nationwide, in 43 provinces, by the flooding.
Some 74,000 people have been evacuated from their homes so far across Thailand.
Region-wide more than two million people across Vietnam, Cambodia Thailand and Laos are now homeless as a result of the
worst floods in a generation sweeping through the Mekong River basin.
In Vietnam two million people are without shelter and thousands of families face hunger and epidemics as they camp out in
narrow dykes, according to disaster relief officials there.
Rescuers are experiencing difficulty reaching some flood-hit areas and fears are growing of an outbreak of disease. The
Vietnamese army has been called in to help with relief efforts.
Some 200,000 people have abandoned their homes for higher ground in Cambodia, according to the International Red Cross.
But with flood waters lingering, new fears have been expressed of the spread of diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and
diarrhoea, while others say the real disaster -- hunger as a result of crop losses -- has yet to be felt.
Agence France Presse - September 22, 2000.
|