Heavy monsoon rains, strong winds and lightning will hit coastal areas between Tuesday and Sunday, the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology warned yesterday.

Minister Lim Kean Kor appealed for all local officials and residents, particularly in districts near the ocean, to be on the alert for the storm and avoid sea travel in the coming days.

“We ask fishermen and tourists who want to travel to the islands to be careful for these six days,” said Oum Rina, director of the Meteorology Department.

He added that his department expected sea level to rise between one metre and 2.5 metres during the storm.

Although storms tend to peak at the beginning and end of the rainy season each year, the heavy rains, wind and hail that had hit by late May had already killed at least 16 people, injured 68, destroyed more than 1,000 houses and damaged more than 5,000.

In a relatively dry 2012, by contrast, storms had caused 10 deaths and 60 injuries and destroyed about 700 houses by late May.

Keo Vy, cabinet director for the National Committee for Disaster Management, has said storm damage this year has been “a lot more serious” than last year.