Floods destroy 180,000 hectares of rice paddies in Cambodia

[XINHUA]

PHNOM PENH -- At least 180,000 hectares of rice paddies in Cambodia have been destroyed by the Mekong River floods since early August, Minister of Agriculture Chan Sarun said on Wednesday.

"So far, 180,000 hectares out of the 2.4 million hectares of grown rice paddies this year have been destroyed by the floods," he told reporters after a meeting. "However, it will not affect our food security and rice export policy as we will distribute rice seeds to affected farmers as soon as possible after the floods."

Chan Sarun said that the ministry has reserved about 3,450 tons of rice seeds to give out to affected farmers to replant rice crop soon after the floods.

Cambodia has been hard-hit by the flood since Aug. 13, inundating 19 cities and provinces.

Keo Vy, spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), said Wednesday at least 207 people were killed, excluding 6 people killed on Wednesday morning as a boat capsized in Siem Reap province.

The floods have also affected some 1.2 million people, he said.

About 600 houses were swept away by floods and other 196,600 houses, 1,132 schools and 400 Buddhist pagodas are submerged.

In addition, approximately 180 kilometers of national roads and around 1,800 kilometers of gravel roads have been blocked.