2011 flood response

 

When areas of Cambodia experience their highest flood levels in a decade in 2011, CARE provided emergency relief to meet the needs of over 6,000 vulnerable families in Kampong Chhnang and Prey Veng provinces.

 

In late September 2011, prolonged heavy rains in the northern part of the region caused water levels in the lower Mekong to rise to their highest in ten years. By the first week of October, the Royal Government of Cambodia declared 18 out of 24 provinces as heavily flooded. The impact was evident; 350,274 households (over 1.64 million people) were affected, 51,594 households evacuated and 247 fatalities were confirmed. Over 423,449 hectares of rice fields were affected with 265,804 hectares reported as damaged. With the total area of planted rice at 2,466,429 hectares, this represents 10.7 per cent of total crops.

Approximately 78,000 families (334,000 people) in 86 communes of 12 districts of Prey Veng were affected. Almost 7,000 families (over 39,000 people including 12,398 females) were evacuated from their homes and 49 people were reported dead. The flood affected 79,000 hectares of rice paddies and 45,000 hectares are estimated to have been destroyed in the province.

Six districts in Kampong Chnang were affected by the flooding, with three experiencing the most severe impacts. Up to 7,800 households were directly affected and of these more than 4,500 families were displaced. More than 20,000 hectares of rice under cultivation have been destroyed or damaged in the province.

To meet the immediate humanitarian needs of some of the most vulnerable families affected by the floods in three districts of Kampong Chhnang Province and two districts of Prey Veng Province, CARE distributed food and non-food items to 6,000 households over a period of three months. This included assessment of distribution procedures and commodity quality to ensure that CARE’s response was as efficient and effective as possible.
 
As the waters receded and communities started to look towards the future, CARE worked to identify their most pressing needs to help with their recovery from this disaster. This included distributing seeds and tools to those who had lost crops and restocking livestock. Cash grants were provided, allowing community members to purchase the items most suited to their individual situation, as well as the provision of cash or food for work. Water and sanitation were also assessed to ensure communities did not suffer from water-borne diseases and help people to maintain good health as they started to rebuild their lives.