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| Destructions and floodings in Northern Cambodia. Photos: Sila Phung. |
The typhoon killed 14 people and more than 20,165 families are affected, according to the latest update from The Provincial Committee for Disaster Management (PCDM) of Kompong Thom Province.
”Houses have been destroyed and large areas with rice crops are completely flooded. Everyones talking about how the weather has become unpredictable in the later years," says Sila Phung.
Aid through ACT |
| ACT International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. In Cambodia, we work with our ACT partners to support the affected of typhoon Ketsane and floodings from heavy rain. |
Food is desperately needed, particularly by the absolutely poor households. DanChurchAid parnter CWS Kompong Thom project estimates that around 20 per cent of the total affected households of the province have no rice, which is the staple diet. The other affected populations including the better off households will also face food shortages in the next 15 days. Some villagers are reportedly going into forests to dig for wild potato for daily consumption. It becomes more and more difficult to borrow rice from other villagers or lend others rice because every family needs prioritise its own consumption. Some families are forced borrow money from private lenders at high interest rates to purchase food.
Health-related issues are also flagged as requiring urgent attention. Cold, fever, stomach ache and diarrhea are increasing rapidly among communities, especially among children. These illnesses are caused by drinking contaminated water or playing in flooded water. CWS estimates around 40 to 50 per cent of children have diarrhea and are losing weight. There have been no deaths from diarrhea so far. To date, there has been no health status assessment by the Government.
Read more on the situation in Cambodia in the siterep from ACT
DanChurchAid have granted an initial 300.000 DKR (59920 USD) for food, blankets, tarpaulins, mosquito nets and other equipment, to be distributed among the affected families.
Church World Service (CWS), DanChurchAid partner, are assesing the needs and possibilites for aiding the reconstruction.
Bases on article by Lisbeth Engbo and ACT update