Capital’s ‘top hazard’: flooding

[geovalin]

Bun Sengkong and Igor Kossov

Phnom Penh residents rate floods as the city’s top disaster hazard, with fires and toxic waste placing second and third, respectively, according to a study by Czech NGO People In Need and Cambodian NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut.

Experts said that flood risk has been elevated since the capital filled in 25 natural lakes for real estate developments. Meanwhile, an insufficient drainage system that’s frequently clogged by residents’ garbage or blocked by construction can’t get rid of the water quickly enough.

“Disaster hazards tend to concentrate in the outer districts of Phnom Penh,” the authors wrote in the study, which was quietly released in December but publicised via social media over the weekend. “These parts … are less developed and have fewer protection mechanisms.”

read more http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/capitals-top-hazard-flooding