Cambodia receives 40 mln USD from WB for Typhoon Ketsana recovery [-Will it ever reach the victims or will it end up in the pockets of corrupt gov't officials?]

November 11, 2010
Xinhua

The Cambodian government received Thursday 40 million U.S. dollars from the World Bank for restoring the losses and damage caused by Typhoon Ketsana that hit the country last year.

Speaking at the signing ceremony to receive the assistance from World Bank, Keat Chhon, deputy prime minister and minister of finance and economy said the assistance is classified into two forms, one of which is 20 million U.S. dollars as in grant and another 20 million U.S. dollars as in credit.

The assistance will target specifically to the poor under the World Bank's form of the Ketsana Emergency Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project (KERRP) which aims to restore transportation and water and sanitation services to the affected people who are mostly poor and live in the rural areas, as well as to strengthen the capacity of the government in disaster preparedness and management.

"Typhoon Ketsana devastated the lives and livelihood of tens of thousands of Cambodian people, particularly the poor," said the World Bank Country Manager for Cambodia, Qimiao Fan.

"This project will help to restore the damaged infrastructure such as rural roads and provide basic services such as water and sanitation facilities, to the affected people in mostly rural areas," he said.

This four-year rehabilitation project will focus on four main components such as the rehabilitation, reconstruction and improvement of 920 km of existing rural roads, including bridges, culverts and drainage facilities.

The World Bank's program in Cambodia is designed to provide support to the poorest segments of the population, within the overarching goal to improve governance.

Keat Chhon said that including the 40 million U.S. dollars aid, World Bank has financed a total of 1,099 million U.S. dollars to Cambodia since 1993, of which 733.5 million U.S. dollars is credit and 365.5 million U.S. dollars is grant.

WB assists Cambodia's poor affected by typhoon Ketsana

November 03, 2010
Xinhua

The World Bank has approved 40 million U.S. dollars in grant and credit to Cambodia to help restore the losses and damage from the typhoon Ketsana in Cambodia.

In a statement released Wednesday by the World Bank Office in Cambodia, it said the grant and credit will be used in the form of the Ketsana Emergency Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project ( KERRP) aimed to restore transportation and water and sanitation services to the affected people who are mostly poor and live in the rural areas, as well as to strengthen the capacity of the government in disaster preparedness and management.

"Typhoon Ketsana devastated the lives and livelihood of tens of thousands of Cambodian people, particularly the poor," said the World Bank Country Manager for Cambodia, Qimiao Fan.

"This project will help to restore the damaged infrastructure such as rural roads and provide basic services such as water and sanitation facilities, to the affected people in mostly rural areas," he said.

The International Development Association -- the division of the World Bank that helps the world's poorest countries -- is providing a grant and an interest-free loan for the project, each valued at 20 million U.S. dollars.

This four-year project will focus on four main components such as the rehabilitation, reconstruction and improvement of 920 km of existing rural roads, including bridges, culverts and drainage facilities.

Second, the construction of 1,400 community-based wells with hand pumps, and the building of 32,000 units of pour-flush latrines for the affected households.

Third, Supporting Emergency Response by providing retroactive financial support for specific eligible expenditures for emergency response works and supporting project implementation agencies by providing technical assistance in project management such as detailed surveys, engineering designs, procurement, financial management, construction supervision, monitoring and evaluation, and community outreach.

And fourth, strengthening the capacity building of institutions by supporting the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) in increasing its capacity for disaster preparedness and management.

This will be achieved through the development of national and provincial risk maps, emergency management information, and early warning systems, as well as the development of housing and building codes.

The World Bank's program in Cambodia is designed to provide support to the poorest segments of the population, within the overarching goal to improve governance.

Typhoon Ketsana Costs Cambodia US$284 Million Damages

PHNOM PENH, Jan 12 (Bernama) -- Typhoon Ketsana that hit Cambodia last year cost total damages worth US$284 million, China's Xinhua news agency reported, citing a government official as saying on Tuesday.

Pov Samy, secretary general of National Committee for Disaster Management told a forum on "natural disaster" in Phnom Penh that the typhoon Ketsana that hit eight provinces in the country.

Of which, he said infrastructure, houses and buildings affecting both the state and private ones cost US$153 million while restoration and rehabilitation of these hardwares would need another US$131 million.

Following Typhoon Ketsana hitting this country in late September, the international aid agency Oxfam has warned several times of food crisis due to the flooding that affected the communities in Cambodia.

Until last month, Oxfam estimated that 100,000 people are affected by the floods and 15,000 households are in need of immediate food assistance.

Eight of total 24 provinces in the country were affected by flooding.

Southeast Asia Faces Rising Risks From Severe Weather

Photo: VOA Image

In Southeast Asia, people know well the risks that extreme weather can bring, and they worry that a warmer climate will increase those risks.

Bangkok 19 December 2009
Daniel Schearf
VOA News

When Typhoon Ketsana hit Manila this year, the crowded city's planners were stunned at the amount of rain that poured down in a short time. Houses here sit close to the ground, even though the land is lower than a lake nearby.

"The most concerned extreme events in Southeast Asia is probably storm - typhoon and tropical storm," said climate scientist Anond Snidvongs.

Dr. Anond Snidvongs, who has studied climate change for more than a decade, has analyzed storm data over the past 60 years. Storm frequency, he says, comes in cycles of 30 years. But, he warns, warmer global temperatures could bring more, and bigger, storms.

"We are going on the rise again, but that's due to normal cycles," he added. "But if you look into the Mekong delta, for example in Vietnam, it has shown the 30-year cycle, but the phase and amplitude is going up and then going up like that."

This means, he says, that the Philippines, the southern part of Vietnam and Cambodia will be hit with more storms than experienced in recent decades.

Here in Can Tho, in southern Vietnam, boats carrying goods converge on the Mekong River to trade.

Cuong is a trader from the nearby coastal province of Ben Tre. His job, he says, is vulnerable to weather changes.

"In the past, everything was fine, but in the last 10 years, there were so many storms," he said.

A storm destroyed his house in 2007, he says. And worse, storm surges have tainted the water supply with salt.

"We already have water shortage before. Now the water shortage is worse," he added.

In Southeast Asia, where millions of people are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as drought or unusually heavy rains, there are growing concerns for the future.

Hassan Moinuddin of the Asian Development Bank's Mekong Sub-Region Program says a warmer climate could cut almost seven percent off the region's gross domestic product by the end of this century, by reducing crops or forcing the relocation of communities.

"It not only will affect the growth and the economic development, but it will have a severe consequence especially on the disaster emergency relief funding that will be required," he explained.

As governments debate who is to shoulder greater responsibility for slowing climate change and paying for the damage, profound change, says Dr. Anond, should come from individuals.

"We need to live in harmony with climate," noted Dr. Anond.

For instance, houses should be built, taking into account their environment.

"Houses in our region used to have stilts a few meters above the ground in order to allow flood to stay there," he explained.

He hopes people will adapt their lifestyles according to the nature of their environment, and help them lessen the effects of climate change.

Extended German relief aid for victims of Typhoon Ketsana

Cambodia: Extended German relief aid for victims of Typhoon Ketsana

Source: Government of Germany

Phnom Penh, 11 December 2009 - With the aim to support those victims of typhoon Ketsana who have lost their houses and suffer from food shortages due to the devastating tropical storm the Federal Republic of Germany has, in addition to its previous assistance, provided 200.000 Euro relief aid. The additional assistance is channelled through the German Organisation Welthungerhilfe in cooperation with the local Ketsana Emergency Response network. The assistance will bridge humanitarian assistance provided earlier and will support efforts to reconstruct communal infrastructure in Ratanakiri Province. The affected population will also receive agricultural inputs in order to prepare for the next harvesting season.

In October 2009, the Federal Republic of Germany already provided 228.920 Euro assistance to the victims of typhoon Ketsana of which 200.000 Euro were addressed to assist the efforts of reconstruction and food provision through the NGO Care in Ratanakiri Province as well as for immediate relief aid in cooperation with the Red Cross.

In total, the Federal Republic of Germany therewith provided 428.920 Euro of relief aid to the victims of typhoon Ketsana.

Contact:
German Embassy, No. 76-78, Street 214, Phnom Penh, Tel.: 023-216381; Fax: 023-427746

S. Korea to airlift supplies to storm-hit Cambodia

SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Wednesday it will airlift about seven tons of supplies this week to Cambodia as part of its pledge to help the Southeast Asian country bounce back from recent storm damage.

A C-130 transport aircraft carrying tuna cans, powdered milk, soap and other supplies will depart Thursday after the leaders of the two countries agreed last month on joint recovery efforts, the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul said in a statement.

South Korea will contribute US$200,000 worth of supplies, half of which will be carried on the aircraft while the other half will be delivered by local suppliers in Cambodia, the ministry said.

Typhoon Ketsana killed at least 18 people in central Cambodia in September, injuring 100 others and destroying scores of homes, according to news reports.

CRC's Bon Phka Prak Moha Samakki

Click on the announcement to zoom in

For additional information, click here

$200K in SKorean humanitarian emergency aid for typhoon victims in Cambodia

Humanitarian emergency aid for typhoon victims in Cambodia

02 Nov 2009
Source: Government of the Republic of Korea

1. With regard to enormous loss of human lives and property in Cambodia caused by typhoon "Ketsana" on October 1-2, the Government of the Republic of Korea has decided to provide emergency relief supplies worth 200,000 dollars to support recovery efforts in Cambodia and join the international community in its humanitarian assistance activities.

Typhoon "Ketsana" that hit northwestern Cambodia on October 1-2 has left 43 people dead, 67 injured, about 6,000 families homeless, and around 48,000 families short of food. The typhoon also caused property and infrastructure damage, washing away or damaging about 1,000 houses, sweeping away 57,000 hectares of farmland and livestock, and destroying roads.

2. During the summit between President Lee Myung-bak and Prime Minister Hun Sen on October 22, President Lee expressed his intention to provide cooperation through the Foreign Ministry in response to a request from the Cambodian side to support typhoon recovery operations. The Korean government will provide relief food and daily necessities that the Cambodian government has asked for.

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

Climate shift 'victimises' Cambodia

Local officials say the sheer volume of water dumped by typhoon Ketsana in September pushed floodwaters several kilometers into the plains around the Mekong river
Chea Sarin and her family now survive by selling fruit to tourists from a makeshift shack

Monday, October 26, 2009
By Steve Chao in Katot, Cambodia
Al Jazeera

The village of Katot is a rather unremarkable place. It only ever gets mentioned in passing by tour guides as they take their busses, packed with vacationers, along the dirt road from Cambodia's border with Vietnam.

It is the road, or rather the fact it has been submerged in two meters of water for more than a month, that has now gained Katot some extra attention.

Cambodia's press has labeled it the latest "victim" of climate change. And while the small collection of families, a little more than a dozen, who call Katot home say they have never heard of the term, they can certainly talk about the dramatic shifts in weather that have destroyed much of what they own.

"We've got little to nothing left," says Chea Sarin, a villager who, with her husband, was forced to flee their home when floodwaters began to suddenly rise.

Cambodians are long used to the wet season. And homes built on stilts dot the landscape as testament to the people's resilience to floods. But in Katot, this year was unlike any other in recent memory.

As typhoon Ketsana rolled through the region in late September, the Sarin's watched the bulletins on a small television set in their one-room wooden hut. Weather forecasters warned that the mighty Mekong, the heart and soul of the country, could flood its banks.

"We thought we were safe," says Sarin, "after all, our house is 10km from the river."
Water levels 'still rising'

Wading through waist-high water, Chea's husband, Thoeurn, tries to give us a glimpse of his home. We get within eyesight, but it gets too deep to go further.

"The water came up out of the ground, we don't ever get that much flooding here, we're farmers, so depend on knowing the way the weather works, we really don't know what happened,” he tells us.

Local officials say the sheer amount of water dumped by the typhoon pushed floodwaters several kilometers into the plains around the Mekong. In Katot, four weeks on, the levels continue to rise. Thoeurn points to the lake that now forms his backyard.

"Those were our wheat fields," he says. "We borrowed three hundred dollars to plant them. We were just weeks away from harvest. Now we have nothing for the new year to eat."

One of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, most of Cambodia's farmers grow crops not to sell, but to simply feed themselves.

This year was supposed to see a bumper crop of rice and wheat. But an estimated 30,000 hectares throughout the country have been destroyed.

Groups like Oxfam are warning of a looming food crisis, with international aid too slow to come.

"These are usually called the hunger months right before harvest," says Francis Perez of Oxfam. "People were depending so much in terms of their livelihood on this harvest. The typhoon came at the most vulnerable time for many farmers in Cambodia."

The experiences of those in Katot offer a snapshot of what the government fears will be the impact of climate change on the country in years to come.

Compensation demand

"Cambodia didn't cause climate change but... Because we have a very limited adaptive capacity, our people don't have enough resources, so our people will suffer the most" - Navann Ouk, Cambodian climate council member

In the capital Phnom Penh, authorities this week held the country's first-ever conference on climate change, chaired by Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Sen.

"Poor countries are the ones most affected from the crisis that was originated elsewhere, because they have very little resources to cope with climate change," said Hun Sen at the opening of the Climate forum.

Studies by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) show that the temperature along the Mekong river has risen between 0.5 and 1.5 degrees celsius over the last 50 years, and is predicted to rise another 2 to 4 degrees celsius by the end of the century.

The WWF warns this will lead to even more severe weather changes, from increased flooding to drought. The group also warns that tens of millions of people throughout the Mekong river basin will be forced from their traditional lands.

Cambodia, a nation that only a few years ago reached a level of production making it able to feed itself, is worried by the devastating affects of climate change.

To help it cope, authorities are demanding wealthy nations provide hundreds of millions of dollars to fund programmes to help people and wildlife adapt.

"Cambodia didn't cause climate change but, in fact, we've received a lot of impact from it," says Navann Ouk, a member of Cambodia's climate council.

"Because we have a very limited adaptive capacity, our people don't have enough resources, so our people will suffer the most."

Homeless, facing hunger

"We have no way to pay for seeds to plant a new crop. What will we do?" - Chea Sarin, displaced farmer

On the only patch of high ground beside the main road which the Sarins use as a temporary shelter, sodden blankets and wet clothes hang under a makeshift tarp, meant to keep the constant rain from making an even wetter mess of their remaining possessions.

The rain is another anomaly they tell us.

"The wet season was supposed to be over a few weeks ago but in recent years it has continued to stretch later and later," says Thoeurn.

Living in one of the most remote parts of Cambodia, the Sarins know that aid won't likely reach them for some time to come.

And so they use what they were able to scavenge from their home to set up a small roadside stand, selling tea and fruit to the groups of tourists that must now walk a few hundred metres on foot, as their busses try to navigate through the flood.

"It will help pay for some things, but we're still heavily in debt" Chea Sarin says. "We have no way to pay for seeds to plant a new crop. What will we do?"

Cambodia finalizes Typhoon Ketsana death toll at 43

Oct 22, 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodian authorities released final figures Thursday showing that 43 people died in the kingdom when Typhoon Ketsana swept through the country in late September.

The National Committee for Disaster Management said the typhoon injured 67 people and affected more than 66,000 families. Around 10,000 homes were damaged.

'More people died during the floods that followed the storm,' said the committee's deputy director for information, Keo Vy, explaining the agency's increased figures.

Keo Vy added that the typhoon had seriously affected agriculture and infrastructure in 13 provinces across the country, damaging 54,500 hectares of rice fields just weeks before the rice harvest. Dozens of bridges were damaged as were 320 kilometres of mainly rural roads.

The final figures for Cambodia showed that Ketsana also flooded more than 1,100 schools.

Before hitting Cambodia, Ketsana tore through the Philippines, where it killed 464 people, and central Vietnam, where at least 159 people died.

Oxfam:15,000 Cambodian Households Need Food Assistance

21-Oct-2009
Source: Xinhua

The hunger period has been prolonged, and people in flood affected communities cannot wait any longer, international aid agency Oxfam warned Tuesday.

Food assistance is not delivered quickly enough to the affected communities, and thousands of families who are in need of urgent food assistance are still marooned in floodwaters, it said.

Oxfam estimates that 15,000 households are waiting for immediate food assistance, and the number is increasing rapidly as floodwaters continue to recede slowly and many more families have used up their food stocks. Some households who received food assistance earlier were also running out of food for weeks.

"People in the flood affected regions needed food a month ago, and they are still waiting for food," said Francis Perez, Country Lead of Oxfam International in Cambodia. "Food insecurity is getting worse in the affected communities. Government bodies and international aid agencies concerned with the current situation must start delivering food assistance now."

About 100,000 people are affected by typhoon Ketsana which coincided with annual floods in late September and early October.

The storm affected both farmers who own farmlands and those who sell their labour to work on those farms, thus depriving both groups of their livelihoods. Normally people facing disruptions in their livelihoods in the provinces would have family members migrate to Phnom Penh and other provinces to look for work.

But the cities are already flooded with unemployed workers due to the global financial storm that has ravaged the country's economy. So, that kind of strategy to stave off hunger may no longer be available as an option to those displaced by the floods.

Flood-affected Cambodians need food aid, Oxfam urges

21 October 2009
Charities Aid Foundation

Thousands of families in Cambodia are still marooned and without adequate food aid after major floods hit the country, a charity reports.

According to Oxfam International, some 15,000 households are in need of immediate food assistance because aid has not been distributed quickly enough.

The organisation estimates that some 100,000 Cambodians were affected by typhoon Ketsana, which hit at the same time as annual floods at the end of September, many of whom are farmers or rural labourers.

Francis Perez, country lead of Oxfam International in Cambodia, commented that many people have been urgently awaiting aid for a month.

He said: "Government bodies and international aid agencies concerned with the current situation must start delivering food assistance now.

"Food insecurity is getting worse in the affected communities."

So far, the international aid agency has delivered non-food aid to 5,000 families in the badly-affected regions of Kratie, Kampong Thom and Stung Treng, but wishes to meet the food needs of 1,000 more.

Oxfam International is also working to help flood-stricken families in Bangladesh through the construction of shelters.

Tyhoon kills 35, destroys $41 mln in properties in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) gave an initial estimation at last weekend's meeting that Typhoon Ketsana, which hit Cambodia recently, claimed 35 lives and cost 41 million U.S. dollars in damages, official news agency AKP reported on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by governors, deputy governors from 11provinces affected by the storm in late September, and officials from the involved ministries, departments and institutions.

According to AKP, officials from the 11 Ketsana-hit provinces Kampong Thom, Rattanakiri, Preah Vihear, Kampong Cham, Kratie, Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Siem Reap, Mondulkiri, Stung Treng and Kampot submitted their reports individually on the devastating case to the meeting, bringing the initial damage of rice fields and roads to 41 million U.S. dollars, while the dead toll is up to 35 people, of them 20 have been found dead in Kampong Thom, four in Rattanakiri, five in Kampong Cham, four in Siem Reap and two in Kampot.

Kampong Thom province was the hardest affected by the typhoon, said a representative from the Ministry of Water Resource and Meteorology.

The estimated assessment of the damage should be compiled into a proper document for the emergency request of assistance, Nhem Vanda, NCDM first vice president, who presided over the meeting was quoted by AKP as saying. Some donors, including the World Bank, the Disaster Committee of ASEAN and Japan, etc. have expressed their willingness to provide aid for the victims, he said.

Cambodia: Rebuilding lives after Typhoon Ketsana

19 Oct 2009
Source: Oxfam

Thach You, like thousands of others in Cambodia, is struggling to keep a roof over her family's head and find enough food for her children following a season of devastating floods. Oxfam is providing relief assistance.

Flooding is not new for Thach You, a 25-year-old mother of five. Thach's house, which stands on stilts, is flooded for a week almost every year. But this year, floodwaters have reached higher and have lasted for three months. Around her house and beyond, a vast body of water covers over 80 percent of the rice fields vital to the local livelihoods in her village.

Like most of the 47 families in Toul Char, a village 143 miles north of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, Thach's family left their house to escape the danger and since mid-July they have taken refuge on higher ground. This was especially warranted after two near- fatal incidents with her two-year-old daughter who fell into the flood waters.

Conditions grew worse for Thach's family on September 29 after typhoon Ketsana, which coincided with the annual floods, dumped heavy rains on the region. The family's temporary shelter, made of palm leaves and tree branches, was no match for the onslaught.

"On the night of the typhoon, the wind was so strong that the roof could not stand it anymore," said Thach. The wind tore it off. "The downpour of rain was frightening. I used sleeping mats to cover my four children and a blanket to cover my then two-week-old daughter while my husband and I were trembling in the rainwater praying for the storm to end."

The same storm devastated parts of the Philippines, Vietnam, and Laos.

Across Cambodia, the storm affected an estimated 100,000 people. Floods and heavy rain hit eight provinces in central and northern Cambodia. Oxfam's reports show 10,867 families being affected with 19 deaths in Kampong Thom province alone. Oxfam is now focusing relief efforts on three hard-hit provinces: Kampong Thom, Kratie, and Stueng Treng. About 97,000 people in the three provinces are affected with 40,000 hectares of rice fields destroyed. Public infrastructure and private property, including houses and livestock, were damaged or lost, causing major disruption to people's livelihoods.

Keeping her family safe

After the typhoon destroyed her roof, Thach had to find palm leaves to rebuild it—while the rain kept pouring, sometimes non-stop for days. Every day, the family looked for food and hoped that the rain would stop.

When Thach's village finally became accessible, she received an Oxfam relief kit containing one plastic sheet, one water filter, two sleeping mats, one mosquito net, one krawma (a traditional multi-purpose scarf in Cambodia), one sarong, one kettle, two 16-liter buckets, one 80-liter bucket, and a bar of soap. These items have helped her to make the living conditions a little better and to ensure that the family has clean drinking water which will help fend off some waterborne diseases.

Thach told Oxfam that finding enough food for her family has been a challenge. A month earlier, she had received 60 kilograms of rice from a relief organization, but that food was long gone because she had to feed the family and return some of the rice she had borrowed from others. To get by, Thach and her husband skip meals so that their children can have more. But malnutrition is already visible.

"Now, it's extremely difficult to borrow rice from others because everybody is in urgent need of rice," Thach said. "Today I could only borrow four kilograms of cassavas and this will keep my children full for only two days."

Oxfam is working to assist 5,000 other hard-hit households by distributing relief items. It has reached 75 percent of them, but the challenges are growing.

"More efforts by humanitarian agencies are needed as receding waters become shallow, disrupting delivery of aid by boat," said Francis Perez, country lead of Oxfam International in Cambodia. "Oxfam will consider giving cash for food if that is the only resort to avoid hunger."

Concern about public health

Food isn't the only worry for Thach's family. Health is also an issue—one that Oxfam is concerned about, too, as water-related diseases are increasing and access to medical care for many people is difficult.

In Thach's village, Chief Houen Chea said only four families in his community went to a health center within the last three months. The nearest one is nearly five miles away and now a boat is necessary to reach it.

Thach's husband, Lun Peang, can hardly walk as his foot was cut with a bamboo thorn. The foot continues to swell and he cannot perform even the basic daily chores. But Lun never sought medical help.

"Even if the public health center does not charge me fees, I will not go because I do not have the $1 I need to pay for the boat to the center," Lun said.

Oxfam plans to reach an additional 5,000 families in the recovery phase in the next three to six months to help provide sanitation, rehabilitate safe water sources, and ensure food and livelihood security for the affected communities.

2009 Cambodia flooding: CWS emergency appeal

15 Oct 2009
Source: Church World Service (CWS)

SITUATION:

The effects of Typhoon Ketsana on Cambodia exacerbated an already serious flooding situation in the country; at least 14 people died in flooding caused when the typhoon hit Cambodia on Sept. 29. (The storm also badly affected Vietnam and the Philippines; a separate appeal for the Philippines, Appeal # 6537, was issued Oct. 8.)

In Kompong Thom Province, where CWS works, 10,684 families in 254 villages were affected. The damage was widespread: 14,862 hectors of paddy rice were completely destroyed, and 34,078 meters of road cut off. At least 98 houses and public buildings were completely destroyed and another 430 houses and public buildings were badly damaged.

CWS was part of a multi-agency coalition that assessed damage in late September and early October both from flooding prior to the typhoon and flooding caused by Ketsana.

CWS RESPONSE:

Initial CWS relief assistance included food distribution to 112 families of such items as rice and canned fish. In the next phase, CWS plans to assist 3,841 affected families, or 19,435 persons, with adequate and appropriate food and non-food items, and later, working to provide longer-term food security, as well as access to clean water, and improved sanitation and hygiene facilities. The focus will be on 41 villages in Kompong Thom Province. Twenty-one villages will be assisted directly by CWS Cambodia and 20 villages will receive assistance implemented through CWS partners.

Through January, CWS will distribute the following to the 3,841 families. Food items (totals): White rice - 100 metric tons; canned fish:- 2,000 packs; vegetable oil - 2,749 litres; iodine salt - 2,749 kg; fish sauce - 2,749 bottles; soya sauce - 2,749 bottles; dry salt fish - 2,000 kg. Non-food items to be distributed include mosquito nets - 200; water containers - 500; water purification materials - 1,590; detergent - 1,590 packages; scarves - 1,590 pieces; blankets - 100; sarongs - 100; medicine packages - 100 sets; plastic sheeting - 100; construction material packages - 100 sets.

The second, early recovery stage, through October 2010, will consist of promoting food security and livelihood for the villages. This includes provision of rice seed - 23 metric tons; vegetable seed - 2.75 metric tons; water pumping machines - 16 sets; training to the most affected households on rice production, home gardening, animal raising; support for veterinary services for animal treatments; and raising awareness on sanitation and hygiene to 41 targeted villages. As well, support capacity building efforts that include disaster management trainings for the 41 villages.

Finally, reconstruction efforts will include providing 85 hand pump wells; 85 open wells; 165 household latrines; repair or rehabilitate 2,500 meters of canals or dams, 2,000 meters of village roads; three bridges; and 20 sites where water gates and culverts were damaged.

BUDGET includes $373,177 in direct assistance, including $176,463 for crisis phase assistance (food and non-food items, shelter, etc.) and $196,714 in post-crisis assistance measures, such as food security and livelihood efforts and reconstruction work.

Contributions to support this emergency appeal may be sent to your denomination or to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN, 46515. Please designate: 2009 Cambodia Flooding (#699-O).

For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is responding please visit www.churchworldservice.org or call the CWS Hotline, (800) 297-1516.

CWS Emergency Response Program special contacts:
(212) 870-3151
Program Director: dderr@churchworldservice.org

1,000 Cambodian schools still closed after storm Ketsana

10/15/2009
AP

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Flooding caused by Typhoon Ketsana prevented almost a thousand Cambodian schools from opening at the start of the academic year, keeping tens of thousands of students home, an Education Ministry official said Thursday.

Chroeng Limsry, director of the secondary education department, said some schools were still inundated while others had been damaged by the storm, which swept through the country late last month. Cambodia has about 7,000 schools nationwide attended by more than 3 million students. They should have opened at the beginning of this month.

Typhoon Ketsana toppled scores of rickety houses in Cambodia, killing at least 18 people and injuring 100 others.

Keo Vy, communications officer at the National Committee for Disaster Management, said initial estimates were that the storm caused at least $29.3 million in damage.

The British-based international aid agency Oxfam warned Thursday that "a food crisis is looming in flood-affected communities."

It said an estimated 100,000 people in eight provinces remain affected by the floods, and 15,000 households need immediate food assistance.

The situation is expected to get worse unless food assistance is provided urgently, it said.

"Many of the affected families are forced to borrow rice from each other, but now finding enough food is a big challenge," it said in a statement. "In some communities, Oxfam has also observed an increase in food prices which further weakens the capacities of the most vulnerable to live life in dignity."

Delay for the verification of the voting list and voting registration

Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

The National Election Committee (NEC) said that it will delay the verification of the voting lists and the vote registration for 2009, due to the flood water that prevented this operation. Tep Nitha, NEC secretary-general, said during a press conference held on 13 October 2009 that the verification of the voting lists and the vote registration for 2009 is affected for a period of time because Cambodia came under the influence of a typhoon and major flood in a number of province, therefore people could not travel to verify their information on the voting lists, nor could they register to vote. Tep Nitha added that he will extent the period for the verification of the voting list and the 2009 voting registration in a number of regions if indeed these regions can be verified that they were affected. According to the NEC preliminary results, for the period of 01 to 10 October 2009, the number of verifications of the voting list and voting registrations amounts to 95,446 in 1,526 communes out of a total of 1,621.

Cambodia to estimate typhoon Ketsana's cost this weekend

PHNOM PENH, Oct 13, 2009 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia plans to collect and conclude this weekend all figures and data of damages around the country from the recent Typhoon Ketsana and flooding, a government official said Tuesday.

Keo Vy, communication officer of Cambodia's National Committee for Disaster Management said officials and authorities from around the country will get together this coming Friday in Phnom Penh to sum up all figures and data of damages caused by Ketsana and flooding in Cambodia's recent weeks.

He said the estimate cost so far is about 29 million U.S. dollars and agriculture sector is the hardest hit as tens of thousands of rice paddies have been destroyed.

He said the estimate cost from the typhoon and flooding could be higher as infrastructure, mainly roads, have been damaged in many parts.

Twenty-four people was killed by the typhoon, and more than 20 others died due to severe flooding.

Kompong Thom is one of the seven provinces in the country hardest hit by the typhoon.

Habitat for Humanity responds to a string of natural disasters in Asia-Pacific

08 Oct 2009
Source: Habitat for Humanity International

Cambodia: Habitat for Humanity Cambodia is working on offering a transitional shelter solution and latrines to assist families displaced by Typhoon Ketsana. A Habitat assessment team visited the worst affected province, Kampong Thom in central Cambodia, where close to 500 houses were damaged. Families left homeless by the typhoon are staying in make-shift tents made of salvaged material, cutting down of small trees and plastic sheets .

More than 4,000 families, mostly farmers, were affected in Kampong Thom. At least nine people lost their lives and 20 people were injured.

HFH Cambodia plans to offer technical assistance and construction know-how to families who are rebuilding their houses. Habitat may also work with existing NGOs in the area that have access to funds for house construction and are looking for a partner with building expertise.

Cambodia to re-develop typhoon-hit region

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the government officials and relevant ministries to work together to restore the infrastructures in the Typhoon Ketsana-hit region.

The prime minister made the order at Friday's cabinet meeting. "We have to restore the agricultural infrastructures which were hit by the storm, and set up the top priorities for maintenance with our own financial abilities," Hun Sen said in a statement.

"We should ensure that no one died of hunger," he said, adding we have to facilitate to rebuild housings for victims to accommodate.

Hun Sen highly appreciated the local forces and officials who contributed to help victims timely, and thanked the charitable organizations and people for their help, according to the statement obtained here Saturday.

Nit Nhel, chief cabinet for National Disaster Management Committee told Xinhua that "so far we have not valued the cost of the damage. We have focused on offering shelters and foods for the victims, monitoring their health and other diseases.

"We played for a key role for coordinating other organizations in providing food because we want to provide for all victims," he said, adding the flood is starting to recede in some areas.

At the same time, Seang Soleak, spokesman for the Oxfam international in Phnom Penh said that "we are concerned about the food supply and its price for next year because many rice fields of local people were destroyed by storm and flood.

Now, the flood following the rise of water level of the Mekong River is affecting Kratie province and rice fields in Kratie could be affected, he said.

Last week, Ketsana storm hit Cambodia and killed at least 20 people in Kompong Thom, Preah Vihear, Siem Reap, Ratanakiri, and Mondulkiri provinces, and also destroyed hundreds of houses, roads, dam for agricultural irrigation, and thousands of hectares of rice fields.

On Thursday, Hun Sen said the government and the World Bank will study the impact and the bank will contribute for re-development of the region destroyed by the typhoon.