"Following Recent Flooding, Run Ta Ek Residents Urge Authorities Again to Complete Drainage System ", 27 July 2023

Families in Run Ta Ek, many of whom relocated from Angkor after reported forced evictions, continue to deal with flooding despite repeated complaints to authorities.

“Every time it rains, the water comes up to our knees. It sinks into the house. It makes me worried about the safety of the children,” said Run Ta Ek resident Chan Kea. “I want to ask [the authorities] to refill the soil. I do not have money so maybe it will stay like this forever.”

Kea said he moved from Angkor to Run Ta Ek because he had no better option. The area has a low topography and even though the drainage system is being worked on, he said, it is only 30% to 40% complete and when it rains there is always flooding…

… Apsara National Authority spokesperson Long Kosal said authorities have built infrastructure including roads and a clean water system to make residents comfortable, and an additional 2,000 families plan to move to the area.

… Soeung Saran, executive director of the NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, said that the government should be well prepared with the infrastructure to make sure people that are relocated live in a good environment.

“Based on the policies of the UN or ADB [Asian Development Bank], before relocating people from one place to another place, [the government should] make sure the new place has infrastructure so that people can access the market or school,” Saran said…