Banteay Meanchey: Banteay Meanchey has been hit by heavy flooding. Days of torrential rain has left much of Serey Sophorn City submerged, with hopsitals in dire need, already dealing with the province’s surge in Delta-related Covid-19 cases.

Torrential rain has lashed central Thailand and northwestern Cambodia in recent days. Worst hit – Banteay Meanchey. Its provincial capital, Serey Sophorn City, is on high alert. Its Referral Hospital has been heavily affected. Doctors and nurses have scrambled to get medicine, materials and equipment out of harm’s way. They’ve made an urgent appeal for donations of blood.

Commander of the province’s 51st Infantry Brigade, General Sing Tum, has called on residents to be extra vigilant, particularly those with small children. He says the high-water levels pose an increased risk of animal and insect bites. The floods have also affected a hundred homes along the border in Malai, Boeung Beng, Ou Sralao and Toul Pong communes. 10 families had to be evacuated.

Authorities have confirmed that water levels are already receding and that roads will soon return to normal, but the threat hasn’t gone away. The Ministry of Water Resources says a low-pressure system over the Indian Ocean will bring more heavy rain to the kingdom over the next five days.