Cambodia - Floods OCHA Situation Report No. 1

Ref: OCHA/GVA - 99/0213
Cambodia - Floods
OCHA Situation Report No. 1
11 November 1999

Situation

1. The Government of Cambodia reports that continued torrential rains during October and early November caused flash floods and affected five southern provinces: Takeo, Kandal, Kampong Speu, Phnom Penh Municipality and Pursat. The report indicates that the floods affected 21,334 families and around 9,900 ha of rice field. IFRC's situation report dated 9 November stated that 3,561 houses are damaged/destroyed. So far, there has been no report of casualties.

2. Although the rain stopped and the floods begun to subside, IFRC's report mentioned that communication and transportation have been severely disrupted as roads connecting major cities were damaged and flooded. The media reported that relief efforts have been hampered by water levels, collapsed bridges and blocked highways.

National Response

3. The National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) leads the relief operations. Its report stated that the following action has been taken in each affected province:

• Takeo province: Distributed 50 tons of rice and 3 million KHR (approx. USD 771)
• Kandal province: Distributed 72 tons of rice, scarves and sarongs (skirts), 38 million KHR (approx.USD 9,769) and 2 medical kits
• Kampong Speu Province: Distributed 55 tons of rice
• Phnom Penh Municipality: Distributed 74 tons of rice and 1 kit of medicine
• Pursat province: N/A

According to IFRC's situation report, in total 246 metric tons of rice and food, 41,490,000 KHR (approx. USD 10,666) and 3,849 sarongs are planned to be distributed to affected areas. The NCDM mentioned that the Government is facing a shortage of relief supplies including shelters, mats, blankets, plastic sheets, medicine and food.

International Response

4. The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Phnom Penh and WFP have been working together to obtain a clearer picture on the nature and extent of damage in the affected areas. An assessment is being carried out by WFP in cooperation with the Cambodian Red Cross.

5. The Cambodian Red Cross and Care International have been assisting the affected population through needs assessment, provision of food and other relief supplies. IFRC has revised the appeal issued in August for the flood victims in Cambodia to assist the victims affected by the latest floods, adding CHF 372,350 (approx. USD 244,967) to meet revised needs.

6. The Government has not made an official appeal for international assistance. However, the Government made a request to the UN system for assistance. A particular requirement is the provision of 10,000 kits of relief supplies to affected families together with rice made available by the Government. OCHA decided to release an emergency grant of USD 30,000 along with a grant of USD 30,000 from the Norwegian contingency fund held by OCHA. The UN Resident Coordinator in Phnom Penh confirms that contributions from the international community to assist the most vulnerable flood victims would be welcome.

7. OCHA is prepared to serve as a channel for cash contributions to be used for immediate relief assistance, in coordination/consultation with relevant organizations in the United Nations system. Funds should be transferred to OCHA account No. CO-590.160.0, Swift code: UBSWCHZ-12A at the UBS AG, P.O. Box 2770, CH-1211 Geneva 2, with reference: OCHA - Cambodia ? Floods. OCHA provides donors with written confirmation and pertinent details concerning the utilization of the funds contributed.

8. This situation report and further information on ongoing emergencies are also available on the OCHA Internet Website at
http://www.reliefweb.int

Telephone number: +41-22-917 12 34
In case of emergency: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers: Ms. S. Metzner-Strack/Ms. M. Kondo,
OCHA Disaster Response Branch, direct Tel. +41-22-917-21 44 / 19 97

Press contact: Ms. E. Ponomareva, direct Tel. +41-22-917 23 36

Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: info@dha.unicc.org