Water level in the Mekong basin starts to recede

High water level on the Mekong River (Photo: Reuters)

27 September 2011
By Leang Deluxe
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Soch

An official from the ministry of Water Resources claimed that water level in the Mekong River has started to recede even though spotty rainfalls are still taking place among provinces located next to the Mekong River. Although the water level receding is good news, the ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology is still following up on the evolution of Typhoon Nesat which is now extending over the Philippines. Will this typhoon affect Cambodia?

Water levels at Stung Treng, Kratie and Kampong Cham provinces are starting to recede. The water level at Chaktokmouk point in Phnom Penh remained unchanged at 10.81m for one day, but it has started to lower in the evening of 27 September, according to Chan Yutha, the director of the department of Water Resources and Meteorology.

Chan Yutha told RFI today that, based on the situation of the water level along the Mekong River, concerns will still remain in the upcoming days at a time when flood water has affected so many areas already. He indicated that 180,000-hectare of crops were flooded, 50,000-hectare of which will see permanent crop damage. 61 people died from flooding and several thousands of families were evacuated to higher grounds.

Even though the water level starts to recede, officials from the ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology still call on people to pay attention to water accidents, especially among their children.

Although the water level in the Mekong has receded, concerns still remain. The ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology is still following on the situation of Typhoon Nesat which, on 27 September, was extending over the Philippines. The ministry of Water Resources is sizing up the extent and the influence of this typhoon, as well as its direction, in order to gauge its effect on Cambodia in the upcoming days.