Cambodia - With waters now receding in most provinces and an end to the rainy season in sight, the worst of the flooding that has affected Cambodia since mid-September appears to be over.  Heavy rains caused the Mekong River to overflow, causing flash floods which affected over 1.7 million people, including 188 deaths, across 20 of the country’s 23 provinces. 

Over 31,000 households were evacuated at the height of the floods, and many families are only now making their way back to their homes. “The crucial task now is identifying the number of families in urgent need of shelter whose homes have been either severely damaged or completely destroyed,” according to IOM’s Chief of Mission in Cambodia, Leul Mekonnen. 

In the worst-hit provinces of Kampong Cham, Battambang and Banteay Meanchey, IOM carried out a rapid assessment identifying 284 households without immediate shelter across the three provinces and has  just completed distribution of shelter kits to households in Kampong Cham, the second most populated province in the country.

An emergency cash grant from the UN will allow IOM to provide some 600 shelter kits consisting of zinc roofing, tarpaulins, plastic sheeting and non-food relief items.  In the coming weeks, 223 kits will be distributed to households in Battambang province, with the remainder going to families in Banteay Meanchey. The response effort will also provide transport and assistance to help affected families get home from distribution sites.

For further information please contact

Leul Mekonnen
IOM Cambodia
Email: lmekonnen@iom.int
Tel. +85523214132