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About 152 patients were evacuated from Krakor Referral Hospital in Pursat province after it flooded overnight due heavy rains, damaging wards and essential equipment.
The flooding on Tuesday night, left several wards under water. Hospital beds, chairs, and other furniture were damaged, as staff were able to remove only essential medicines, documents and basic medical supplies as the water rose.
Photos and videos posted on Facebook show patients stranded in a building while receiving treatment as the hospital experienced sudden flooding. One video showed staff and hospital visitors rushing to move medical equipment out of the facility, while people waded through knee-deep water around the hospital compound.
Deputy Krakor Referral Hospital director, Cheang Sokhun, told CamboJA News that 152 patients were transferred to nearby shelters, where health workers are providing basic treatment and monitoring those with serious conditions. Hospital staff and local authorities worked together to respond to the flood and provide care to patients.
“We moved patients to nearby places and provided treatment but we cannot operate fully. Some serious patients were transferred to the provincial referral hospital for treatment,” Sokhun said. “But some parts [of Krakor Referral Hospital] are damaged. We managed to move things like hospital beds and other equipment in time.”
According to him, about 40% of patients are suffering from dengue. Hospital staff are in urgent need of supplies to continue providing medical care. Authorities and hospital staff are assessing the damage and working to restore the service once the water recedes, he said.
Pursat governor and Provincial Disaster Management Committee head Khoy Rida confirmed that patients were immediately evacuated from the hospital along with the moving of medical equipment to safe locations. He conducted an on-site inspection overnight.
Rida told CamboJA News that heavy rainfall on Tuesday night affected six villages in Krakor district in Pursat province. However, the flood in Krakor referral hospital, which has receded slightly, damaged some equipment. “The patients were moved to the district hall, the Cambodian People’s Party hall and a provincial hospital, but the situation is manageable,” he said.
Meanwhile, Krakor district governor Oun Sophalla and local authorities assessed the flood damage on homes, schools, roads, pagodas and rice fields in all the 11 communes, according to Krakor district administration’s Facebook.
Soth Kimkolmony, spokesperson of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), said they are working with the authorities to address the condition and support affected people, noting that the situation is under control.
“We are working with relevant authorities to assess the impact of the flooding,” he said. “The hospital was also flooded and patients were evacuated but we are able to manage the situation.”
The flooding highlights the vulnerability of health facilities to extreme weather. UNICEF has warned that more than 400 health centers across Cambodia are at risk of disasters, including floods, as El Niño disrupts rainfall patterns and brings both drought and heavy downpours to parts of the country.
Cambodia has already experienced erratic weather conditions linked to the current El Niño cycle, with Pursat among the provinces affected by drought earlier this year, followed by flooding in other areas. Officials have urged stronger disaster preparedness to protect water supplies, agriculture and essential services such as health care.
By September 2026, about 150,000 hectares of wet-season rice—around 5% of the country’s three million hectares—were flooded, and over 57,000 families in 10 provinces evacuated.
Hospital and provincial authorities have not released a full assessment of the damage or confirmed when Krakor Referral Hospital will resume normal operation.