Despite a continued effort to quell flooding, homes in the border town of Poipet and three nearby Banteay Meanchey districts have been inundated by heavy rains over the past few days.

According to Kong Sok, Poipet commune chief, almost 100 homes in the town are flooded, some up to the ankle.

“We are using four excavators to deepen the gutters to allow more water flow from the flooded areas,” Sok said. “If the rain would stop for three days, things would go back to normal.”

Poipet Governor Ngor Meng Chrourn said as of yesterday, 50 per cent of the town’s flooding had been drained.

“Now the water recedes, but if it continues to rain so heavily, the water will cover the village and roads again. It is hard to drain, because Poipet is pan-shaped and only has two drainage mechanisms,” Meng Chrourn said.

According to Try Narin, governor of Banteay Meanchey, areas in Thma Puok, Svay Chek and O’Chrou districts are the most affected areas.

“However, the rain has yet to cause any serious consequences, and our forces are working on draining the water from the villages,” Narin said.

Villager Yu Bunthorn, 38, said this is not the first time Poipet has been ankle-deep in water. Though normally, the flooding recedes within a few days.

“If the authorities are implementing a high-capacity drainage system, it might not flood like this anymore,” Bunthorn said.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, however, in a forecast on Tuesday said the rain is not likely to let up any time soon.

In the announcement, Lim Kean Hor, minister of meteorology, urged villagers and local authorities to be aware of the weather hazard in the Mekong River area in Thailand and Laos and to prepare accordingly.

From August 3 to 5, torrential downpours and heavy storms will cause continual flooding, especially in lower areas alongside the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers, Kean Hor added.