SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

13 - Flood in the Lower Mekong basin3.4 River bank and floodplain vegetation: the local plant life that occurs along the river isadapted to the annual variation in flows including the floods. If there are changes in flood extentor frequency the distributions of the plants will change as a consequence, including the distributionsof many plants that are used by the local people.3.5 River channel maintenance: Floods are essential to maintain the physical form of the riverchannel. They flush out fine deposited material, cleanse gravel beds and reset the vegetation onislands. In the absence of floods, river channels reduce in capacity as fine sediments deposit andvegetation encroaches to fill in the channel.4. Economic and social costs of floodingThe 2000 floods in the Mekong Basin werethe worst in the region in 40-50 years. Highlevels of flooding in 2000 were followedby serious floods in 2001 and, some earlyreports suggest, in 2002. Due to this patternof recent flooding, people and governmentsin the basin have suffered substantial direct,indirect and cumulative economic andsocial costs.In 2000, severe flooding affected 22 of the24 provinces in Cambodia. 13 The RoyalGovernment of Cambodia (RGC) put the In the Viet Nam Delta in 2000, a total of 5 million peopledeath toll at 347 people, of whom 80 percentwere affected by floodswere children. A total of 760,000 families(over 3.4 million people) were affected, with 85,000families (387,000 people) temporarily evacuated fromtheir homes and villages. The RCG estimated totalphysical damage at $161 million. In 2001, 62 people died,again mostly children, and damage amounted to $36million. In October 2002, the National DisasterManagement Committee estimated that nearly 1.5 millionpeople and 60,000 ha had been affected by 2002 flooding. aFlood levels in Lao PDR in 2000 reached unprecedentedlevels in the central and southern provinces, and remainedhigh for long periods. 14 Preliminary estimates indicatedthat nearly 73,000 rural households (395,600 people)were seriously affected in 1,200 villages in sevenprovinces (Vientiane, Bolikhamsay, Khammouane,Savannakhet, Saravane, Champassak, Attapeu). A totalof 80,000 ha of rice fields were flooded and an estimated10 percent of the wet season production was completelylost. Irrigation systems and rural road infrastructure werewidely damaged, as well as large parts of provincialtowns. Production losses amounted to approximately $20million.Some 80 percent of those who die in floodsare childrenaIn 2002, Cambodia also suffered severe drought in many regions, with effects that were more widespreadthan flooding in 2002.275