On 23 July, an unprecedented flash flood, caused by the failure of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Dam, inundated 13 villages in Attapeu province, Laos. The flooding, which has affected over 13,000 people across Attapeu’s Sanamxay district, left six villages completely destroyed. At present 39 people are known to have died, while a further 97 remain unaccounted for. A month on, over 4,000 people are still sheltering in evacuation sites. The Red Cross has been working in Sanamxay school evacuation centre, which hosts many displaced people. Phonesi, 51, is also from Thahin village. She said her family clung in fear in the branches of a coconut tree as their home was washed away.