Mekong River flooding expected next week
The much anticipated annual flooding season in the Mekong Delta is set to arrive in the next few days, much later than usual.
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) reports that the floods have reached Thailand and Laos now, and should reach Cambodia in the next few days en route to Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.
The MRC said in a statement Thursday that “heavy rainfall, brought by the tropical cyclone Podul during August 31 to September 3, over the middle part of the lower Mekong basin from Mukdahan Province of Thailand to Pakse City of Laos has caused a sudden water increase in the Mekong River.”
“Most rivers and other water bodies in the areas are now flooded,” said Sothea Khem, River Flood Forecasting Specialist with the MRC Secretariat.
In Vietnam, two monitoring stations, Tan Chau and Chau Doc in An Giang Province in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, will see some increase in water levels of between 0.2 meters and 0.4 meters over the next four days.
Minh Nga
