PHNOM PENH: Floodwaters are receding after a series of rainy days in Kampot, Kep, Sihanoukville and Koh Kong provinces disrupted traffic and flooded some areas.

According to Disaster Management Committee spokesperson Soth Kimkolmony, floodwaters inundated National Road 4 towards Sihanoukville at a few key areas including the Stung Samrong Bridge in Sihanoukville’s Kampong Seila district and the Yeay Mao commune in Kampong Speu’s Phnom Sruoch district.

Further south, 1,055 houses and four schools were flooded in the Kampot Province’s Teuk Chhou and Kampong Trach districts and Kampot city, affecting 4,408 families. Three campers at Omal Waterfalls were swept away by flash flooding leaving one dead and one still missing.

In Kep Province, the city of Kep and the Damnak Chang Eur district were inundated to the point that authorities mobilized machinery to pump out the water. Koh Kong Province was also affected by the floods, but houses and roads in only two communes in the Thmar Bang district were flooded.

According to Soth Kimkolmony, coastal areas above sea level have started to return to normal, with floodwaters receding. "The future situation depends on rainfall. If there is more rainfall, there may be more flooding," he said.

He claimed that the Disaster Management Committee team has prepared teams, equipment and plans to respond in a timely manner to possible natural disasters, while the provinces have also prepared safety shelters, boats and ferries to assist citizens. The committee called on municipal and district authorities and citizens to monitor the weather forecast and inform weather officials to alert the public.