Cambodia flood death toll climbs to 168

PHNOM PENH - The Mekong River and flash floods have claimed at least 168 lives in Cambodia and cost the country about $500 million due to the damages to rice paddy and roads, Keo Vy, spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), said Tuesday.

Floods have been hitting most of the country's provinces since mid-September.

"Besides the deaths, more than 1.7 million people have been affected," he told Xinhua.

In addition, he said about 300,500 hectares of rice paddy, some 241 kilometers of national roads, and 3,100 kilometers of gravel roads have been damaged.

"So far, floodwaters have receded in most provinces. Hopefully, lives will return to normal in the next few weeks," he said.

Floods usually hit Cambodia between August and October.

Flooding killed up to 250 people and cost the country $521 million in 2011, and the death toll declined to only 14 people in the relatively dry year of 2012.