Flood death toll rises to 27 in Cambodia

 At least 27 people in Cambodia have died and about 14,000 families have been evacuated from homes to higher grounds in floods caused by monsoon rains and rivers overflowing their banks, a senior official said Tuesday. "Since early this month, floods have claimed 27 lives including 15 children,"Nhim Vanda, 1st vice-president of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), told Xinhua over telephone, adding that 12 of the country's 25 cities and provinces are suffering from flooding.

He said local authorities, in cooperation with the Cambodian Red Cross, have been actively assisting flood-affected families. "I would like to appeal to parents to take care of their children during flooding season in order to prevent them from drowning,"he said.
Flooding usually hits Cambodia between August and October. Last year, it killed 168 people and affected other 1.8 million people, according to the NCDM.