PHNOM PENH, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Mekong floods have killed 18 people, including eight children, in Cambodia over the past four weeks, a disaster control spokesman said Monday.
Keo Vy, a spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), said six provinces along the Mekong River -- Stung Treng, Kratie, Tboung Khmum, Kampong Cham, Prey Veng, and Kandal, have suffered from the Mekong overflow.
"Besides the fatalities, the floods affect 83,200 families, forcing 7,288 families to evacuate to higher grounds," he told Xinhua, adding that the floods have also submerged some 45,200 hectares of rice paddy and other crops.
According to the spokesman, the water levels in the Mekong River still keep rising and have reached the alarm levels in Stung Treng, Kratie, and Kampong Cham provinces.
Floods usually hit Cambodia between late July and October. In 2011, the Southeast Asian country suffered the worst from flooding, which killed up to 250 people, according to the NCDM.
