Floodwaters caused by Typhoon Ketsana cover the front of the Allson Angkor Hotel in Siem Reap, 320 km (199 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, October 1, 2009. Cambodia is continuing to battle rising floodwaters from the typhoon that has cut a destructive path through South East Asia and killed about 300 people.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT DISASTER)Earth Times
Phnom Penh - Cambodian authorities on Monday said 17 people died and 65 were injured after Typhoon Ketsana swept through the country last week. "This is the biggest storm that I have seen in all my time working here," said Keo Vy, the deputy head of information at the National Committee for Disaster Management, who has worked at the centre since 1995.
Keo Vy said the toll could increase to 21 if four other people who drowned off the southern coast when their vessel sank on September 30 were included. One person survived the sinking.
The committee said about 22,700 families were affected by the storm in four provinces. Nearly 200 homes were destroyed and 644 others were damaged.
The typhoon caused widespread flooding, with its effects felt across Cambodia. The disaster agency said the storm damaged at least 22,000 hectares of rice fields.
The country director of international aid agency Oxfam-GB said Monday that as many as 35,000 hectares of rice fields were damaged.
"We are still in an emergency situation," said Francis Perez, adding that Oxfam was providing aid in some areas and still assessing conditions in others.
Oxfam said 14,000 families were displaced by the typhoon.
"We are looking at reaching 5,000 families this week, and have helped 2,500 families. So we are halfway to our target," Perez said.
The national disaster agency said the typhoon killed nine people in Kampong Thom province, 150 kilometres north of Phnom Penh, and three others in Siem Reap. Three more died in Ratanakkiri province in the east, while two were killed in Kampong Chhnang province.
Ketsana made landfall in central Vietnam early last week causing at least 159 deaths and widespread flooding before heading west into Cambodia. It had earlier caused severe damage and hundreds of deaths in the Philippines.
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