Disasters and emergency response

Laos has started releasing around 1,136 cubic meters of water per second from its dams to the Mekong River to help Vietnam’s southern region cope with severe drought and saltwater intrusion, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The country planned to keep doing so ...

Forest fires were still burning high on mountains ringing Thailand’s provincial capital Mae Hong Son on 22 March, with firefighters struggling to reach hot spots in very difficult terrain.  Keep reading ...

About 5,000 families in Kampong Thom’s Stoung district are facing water shortages as the hot El Niño climate pattern bakes Cambodia for the second consecutive year. While there is enough drinking water for the time being, some residents have to drive a considerable distance to ...

A forest fire near the Preah Vihear temple complex in Cambodia caused decades-old landmines and other unexploded ordnance to explode on 20 March, according to regional military commander Duong Sam Neang. Keep reading ...

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program , both UN agencies, released a statement on 17 March revealing that rural communities in western Myanmar are still enduring increased levels of food insecurity, particularly in areas recovering from natural disasters. Keep reading ...

More than half of Thailand is gripped by water shortages from the drought, according to the Department of Water Resources, but the irrigation chief remains positive that supplies can last until the rainy season if everyone steps up conservation efforts.  Keep reading     ...

China has promised to discharge water from a dam along the Lancang River (better known as the Mekong) to help alleviate drought conditions in Southeast Asia. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang announced on 15 March in a regular press conference that China will release water from ...

In its latest effort to fight worsening flooding, Ho Chi Minh City has come up with a plan to invest VND 1.4-trillion (US$61.9 million) in a response team with mobile pumps. Keep reading   ...

The Thai government is putting drinking water on the special price control list to protect consumers in the face of the drought. Wiboonlasana Ruamraksa, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said authorities were closely monitoring the impact of the drought, which has arrived earlier this year. Keep reading ...

Thailand’s Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has adjusted its water distribution plan after the water in 10 main dams across the country receded to critical levels. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chatchai Sarikulya  said on 2 March the water discharge plan of each dam has been tweaked to cope with ...