Many roads are under water, hindering access to markets and relief services. The current disaster comes on top of serious flooding in July, which claimed 19 lives and ruined over 16,000 hectares of rice and other vegetable crops in Cambodia. The September floods have already killed hundreds of domestic and draught animals. Thousands of wells, vital for irrigation and clean drinking water, are damaged or under water. In the Mekong Delta, Vietnam's main food bowl, half the country's annual rice crop is under threat-potentially a major catastrophe for a country in which rice is the most vital staple.
Meteorologists predict further severe storms for the region in the coming weeks.
But human activities have exacerbated the problem. The flooding has been worsened by extensive logging in the upper Mekong basin, where the removal of thousands of hectares of trees has left bare hillsides unable to absorb the heavy rains, resulting in greatly increased runoff and sedimentation and leading to ever more destructive floods thousands of miles downstream. In addition, the many dams built on the Mekong's tributaries have affected the normal flow of these rivers and destroyed the natural wetlands that once absorbed excess water. Oxfam America's long-term support in the affected areas Oxfam America has been supporting communities in the worst affected areas, especially in the Mekong Delta, for many years. The people of these communities have been struggling to rise out of abject poverty and to begin new lives as farmers, fishers and traders.