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Thursday 13 October 2011

Flooding in S.E. Asia: Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam Philippines


Planting Rice in S..E. Asia - Mari Nicholson

Oct 12, 2011
By Mari Nicholson

The floods sweeping the countries that border the Mekong Delta are suffering the worst flooding in decades and stand to lose a large part of the staple crop

According to the Environmental News Service Online, the continuing heavy rains and high winds that are lashing countries across S.E. Asia will necessitate further evacuation of people residing on low-lying land near rivers.

Ayutthaya in Thailand

In Ayutthaya, hundreds of homes and businesses have been submerged as the Chao Phraya river burst its banks. The centuries old Wat Chaiwattanaram, a much photographed temple in the town, is more than half submerged. World Heritage Sites on one side of the river have survived intact but if the flooding gets worse they too, will be at risk. Forecasters expect more rains in the next few days and the Thai Meteorological Office has estimated that the Monsoon rains will not cease until mid-0ctober.

Bangkok, Capital of Thailand

Bangkok too, is braced for flooding and the government is making preparations to help the city withstand the torrents of water that will flood the streets if the Chao Phraya River overflows. The Thai army has been called in to assist and 150,000 sandbags no longer needed in the north are being transported to the capital to build flood walls.

Flooding in the Philippines

In the Philippines, typhoons Nesat and Nalgae have caused enormous damage through storm surges, flash floods and landslides. The familiar television images of people driven out of their homes and wading chest-high in flood waters can convey little of the misery they are suffering. It is still raining and the authorities expect it will be at least two more weeks before the floods will subside. To add to their woes, tropical storm Ramon is heading towards Mindanao at an estimated speed of 100 km. per hour and already people are being evacuated from their homes.

Four million people have been affected in the Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley regions with damage to the number of homes estimated to be 66,000 and the number of people forced to flee to be 586,000. All schools are closed.

Most people will have seen at some time, a depiction of one of the Philippines most famous sights, the 2,000 year old Rice Terraces in the Philippine Cordilleras. These too, have been severely damaged in major mudslides, when Typhoon Nesat blew across the Ifugao Province.

Flooding in Vietnam and Cambodia

Vietnam and Cambodia are also suffering from record flooding in the Mekong Delta where water levels are at a 10-year high. Over 30,000 houses have been flooded, 14,800 acres of rice crop submerged, and 245,000 acres of paddi are at risk in Vietnam alone.

The China Daily reports that the floods in Cambodia since last month have had a disastrous effect on the country with many dead and thousands made homeless. The flash floods from the Mekong River has inundated most parts of the country. In a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, the cabinet decreed that no person should die of hunger during the floods and it has allocated $50,000 and tons of rice to the worst affected provinces. In addition no Provincial Governor will be permitted to leave his province on overseas trips or even to Phnom Penh during the flooding period, a rare penalty indeed for the governors.

Sources: Bangkok Post, China News, Washington Post and BBC News.

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