Nine villagers were injured and about 270 homes damaged when a storm ravaged Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district on Friday, police said yesterday.

Sandan district governor Sim Vanna told the Post that gale-force winds and heavy rain had swept across the region, leaving a trail of destruction across five villages in its wake.

“The storm destroyed 26 houses seriously,” he said, adding that 239 of the houses had received damage to more than 50 per cent of their foundations.

“Four houses fell down completely, while eight villagers were wounded by the storm and another was injured when lightning struck him,” Sim Vanna said.

It’s the second time in just a few years that residents of Sandan district’s Sandan commune have felt the wrath of Mother Nature.

In September 2009, Typhoon Ketsana damaged “dozens” of houses in the area, Sim Vanna said.

“We informed the officials of the province’s Red Cross. Provincial officials have evaluated the situation and they will assist before relief aid is sent out to victims in the next few days,” Sim Vanna said.

Separately, in Kampong Cham province’s Cheung Prey district, storms and unexpected rain completely destroyed eight houses in Pring Chrum commune on Friday. No one was injured during the incident.

Keo Vy, chief of the Cabinet of National Committee for Disaster Management, said that since January 1, there had been more than twice the number of storms across the country compared to the corresponding period last year.

“There were a reported 22 storm cases during the first three months of the year,” he said. “All up, 457 houses were damaged, and 93 were completely destroyed.

“A total of five schools were completely knocked down after storms hit them, one person was killed and 12 others were injured,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Yuthana at [email protected]