About 1,600 families across 14 villages in Banteay Meanchey have been evacuated after heavy rains over Thailand caused flash flooding, sparking food shortage concerns in at least one community.

Poipet governor Ngor Meng Chroun said that by yesterday afternoon, 1,260 families had been evacuated. While Uk Keo Ratanak, spokesperson for Banteay Meanchey provincial hall, said six of 11 villages in Ou’Chrov district’s Ou’Bei Chean commune were also flooded, with local authorities and the Red Cross assisting villagers as they continued to gauge the scale of the disaster.

“I measured the water level, and it’s one metre higher than Monday’s, so we are evacuating villagers with more than 10 tractors and motorbikes,” said Yorn Sokha, chief of the Ou’Bei Chean village, where more than half of the village’s 220 families have shifted to safer grounds.

Ou’Bei Chean villager So Savoeurn, 48, said people were now worrying about a food shortage.

“Both roads and homes are flooded… Most of villagers are workers who make money to survive one day at a time. Now [that] we are flooded, we will run out of food soon,” he said,

In Siem Reap, water levels of the river have risen by about half a metre in two days. The Apsara Authority is working with Siem Reap authorities to dig three channels to re-direct water and avoid flooding in the tourist town.

Department of Water Resources and Meteorology director Noun Krisna said the heavy rains were likely to continue through Sunday.

To contact the reporters on this story: Phak Seangly and Thik Kaliyann at [email protected]

With assistance from Rosa Ellen