Flooding in Banteay Meanchey.
on Mary In Cambodia (Cambodia), 20/Oct/2010 10:43, 34 days ago
Flooding in Cambodia. 19th. October 2010.The rains normally begin here in May and end in mid October. About 2 hours of very heavy rain is expected daily, usually in the late afternoon. This year has been different. Rain didn’t come until the end of June, and even then it was much less frequent, raining heavily for only about half an hour every two or three days. Farmers coped and the rice was planted and seemed to grow well. That is until now.By mid October the rains should have eased off, water should be draining away from the paddy fields, allowing the rice to ripen and the main crop to be harvested. Instead it has rained almost continuously for the past week, the fields are seriously flooded. I’m told some crops are ruined and all are in serious danger. In excess of 80% of the population is totally dependent on the rice crop. People here eat rice 3 times a day, so each year they estimate what will be needed to feed the family, and sell any extra to give them a little cash for other necessities. This year they’re very worried. Disaster is not far away.Up to one metre of rain has fallen this month in parts of Cambodia.        Fishing beside the rice field.            13/10/10 Flooded but grain above water.                                                                                                                                                                                                       There are other problems caused by this rain, apart from the threat of hunger, rivers have burst their banks, homes are flooded, water supplies are polluted, there is a danger of infection, roads are being washed away. It’s just a minor nuisance to us volunteers, we get wet, we get muddy feet, sometimes we can’t get through the floods to reach school, but for the poor of Cambodia it is making life even tougher than usual.      This family lives under this tree.                            A Pothole! There’s no work for labourers, I’ve seen truck loads of young men and girls heading for the border to try and find work in Thailand, each carrying a little bundle and a bag of rice. Family members stand by the roadside waving them off. These are young, unskilled, uneducated rural people. It is sad and worrying to see them go.  Compare.20/10/10. I was shocked to see how much the country side has changed in a few days. As we drove out to school this morning, each side of the road was a sea of water. The rice crop has completely disappeared, cattle were marooned on raised patches of bare ground, families were huddled together in makeshift shelters, their dwellings washed away. Very few were fishing, the water was chest high on those brave enough to try. Even the snakes seemed to have enough, in places we had to weave our way around dozens of them on the road. I was too chicken to stop and take pictures of them!