Early and heavy
monsoon rains since early July this year have caused widespread flooding
in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. It is estimated that as many
as four million people may be affected by the floods but this is difficult
to confirm as many of the most affected areas are impossible to reach.
The dry period is not due until November and even if the rains were
to stop now, the flood waters would take at least a month to recede.
Cambodia
According to a
report obtained by Agence France-Presse the death toll is 119 with
1.4 million persons affected by the floods in 17 of the country’s
23 provinces. In Phnom Penh, approximately 680,000 persons have been
affected by the rising waters and the death toll has reached 97.
Flooding has caused
extensive damage to infrastructure and crops and the elaborate systems
of water retention and control used for crop production. River bank
erosion along the Mekong has forced the evacuation of thousands of
families. Wells and other water sources have been destroyed or damaged,
increasing the possibility of outbreaks of water borne diseases.
Vietnam
Since early July,
the waters of the Mekong Delta have been rising steadily and as of
mid September causing loss of life (30 persons according to local
authorities) and forcing thousands of families to take refuge on dykes.
Most of these are landless families, who have lost what reserves they
had if any, and who have been without income for some months – the
floods having damaged crops that should have been harvested in August/September.
As many of the dykes are in danger of collapsing due to over saturation
with the flood waters, the Red Cross is distributing thousands of
life jackets.
The worst affected
provinces are those of An Giang, Dong Thap and Long An where an estimated
120,000 homes have been severely flooded and where the situation is
getting worse, threatening to severely affect more than 600,000 persons.
The situation
is deteriorating rapidly, specifically in the Mekong Delta and the
situation has been exacerbated by tropical storm Wukong which wreaked
havoc on the province of Ha Tinh in northern/central Vietnam. The
authorities have issued a state of alert and started the evacuation
of around 100,000 people from the delta area.
ACT member in
Vietnam, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) has confirmed the
reports of a rapidly deteriorating situation. However, there is as
yet no flood warning in their operational. NCA will continue to monitor
and keep this office updated.
Thailand
The Ministry of
Civil Defence reports that around 1.9 million persons are affected,
with 28 people having died due to the inundations.
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ACTion:
Several ACT members
and others in Cambodia, the Lutheran World Service, Church
World Service, HEKS, Kampuchea Christian Council, the Mennonites and
AFSC have come together and formed the Ecumenical Working Group
(EWG) to ensure a coordinated and cohesive ACT response. The
group is working closely with both the Federation as well as the Cambodia
Red Cross (CRC) Society and has received requests for assistance from
several areas.
Members of the
group have already provided assistance to the flood victims from their
own and collective resources. A container of used clothes received
by LWS from WAKACHIAI, Japan has already been distributed.
CWS has already
issued an appeal for Cambodia and has donated US$ 10,000 to the Cambodia
Red Cross for distribution in the form of plastic sheets, towels and
blankets. CWS Cambodia has US$ 40,000 blanket funds available which
will be released if the need continues.
Assessments are
underway and LWS will convene an EWG meeting before the end of the
week to examine resources and capacity in context of the needs and
requests for assistance.
In the meantime,
based on CRC's data, LWS has sent a preliminary request for funds
to assist people with food, clothing and shelter material. In response,
the ACT Coordinating Office has sent US$ 25,000 from its Rapid
Response Fund. An ACT Appeal in the region of around US$ 260,000 is
foreseen within the next few days.
