Floods Southeast Asia

The death toll from floods in Southeast Asia reached 235 as the Red Cross issued a fresh appeal for emergency aid in Cambodia, saying the situation was worse than originally thought. The agency has nearly doubled its estimate of immediate relief needs to $2.23 million, to provide kits of basic household items for the 10,000 most vulnerable families in Cambodia and hygiene kits to 100,000 other families. Persistent heavy rains in Southeast Asia have swelled the Mekong River and its tributaries.

The death toll from floods in Southeast Asia reached 235 as the Red Cross issued a fresh appeal for emergency aid in Cambodia, saying the situation was worse than originally thought. The agency has nearly doubled its estimate of immediate relief needs to $2.23 million, to provide kits of basic household items for the 10,000 most vulnerable families in Cambodia and hygiene kits to 100,000 other families. Persistent heavy rains in Southeast Asia have swelled the Mekong River and its tributaries.

Weather analysts are carefully watching a recent warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean that they fear indicates the onset of another El Nino, the sometimes catastrophic disturbance of world weather patterns.