Cambodia to revive annual Water Festival

Cambodia will restart its annual Water Festival celebration on Nov. 27-29 after

last year's cancellation due to flood devastation, Prime Minister Hun Sen said

Thursday. "This year's Water Festival will be celebrated on schedule at any cost

after last year's halt,"he said during a graduation ceremony of students at the

Human Resources University.

Last year's festival was canceled due to flood devastation that killed at

least 250 Cambodian people and affected some 1.4 million across the country.

Water Festival is the largest annual festival in the Southeast Asian nation.

Around 3 million Cambodians, especially those from rural areas, converge in

Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, to enjoy the regatta.

Meanwhile, the premier also appealed to people to continue to be on high

alert to avoid dangers and property damage due to floods.

Cambodia's eight provinces have been hitting by flash floods since early last

month. According to a report of Cambodian Red Cross, the floods had killed at

least 14 Cambodian people so far, and some 14,100 families have been

affected.

In addition, about 140 schools have been submerged, affecting some 49,000

students, Sam Sereiroth, secretary-general of the education secretariat at the

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, said Wednesday.