Hundreds more houses in at least five provinces had been damaged on Tuesday by storms that began on Monday, an official from the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) said yesterday.

Keo Vy, deputy director of the NCDM’s Information Department, said strong winds and heavy rain had seriously damaged or destroyed at least 83 houses in Pursat province, 48 in Takeo, 40 in Siem Reap, 35 in Kampong Speu and 20 in Preah Vihear.

Destruction had continued in other provinces, including Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, Pailin and Kampong Cham, Vy said, but added he could not provide a full report for the past days because the NCDM was still collecting information from the affected areas as the storms continued.

At least two people had died in Battambang province and eight had been injured, Vy said.

Many houses had lost their roofs and others had collapsed completely, he said.

“As of Tuesday, 12 people have died due to rain, storms and lightning, and about 1,200 houses have been damaged. That’s about double the number this time last year.

“We’re worried that these conditions will continue until the rainy season.”

The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology warned on Tuesday that in the next month, daytime temperatures would rise to 40 degrees and stay there until the end of April.

The hot spell would result in low air pressure, leading to more storms, rain, thunder and tornados, particularly in Cambodia’s central provinces, the ministry said.

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