Three-metre
tidal waves on Thursday swept through 3 kilometres of the beachfront Tha Sala
district in southern Thailand's Nakhon Si Thammarat province, damaging 40 homes
and shops as well as prompting hectic evacuation efforts.
The waves, blown inland by a seasonal but
premature monsoon, also threatened to capsize 300 fishing trawlers anchored
nearby, forcing crew members to hurriedly push them ashore.
The storm, which lasted for an hour, brought
with it waves that crashed barely 50 metres away from the main road.
A large number of cracks and sinkholes, with
the largest being 2-rai wide and 60 metres deep, were created in Chawang
district.
Sinkholes and cracks around 20rai of land near
an old mine swallowed up rubber trees and other vegetation.
Residents in the area are staying indoors and
rubber farmers have stopped working for fear of their lives.
In addition to flash floods in Phatthalung and
Narathiwat on Wednesday, four districts in Surat Thani and Hat Yai in Songkhla
started getting inundated Thursday after days of heavy rain.
There was also a mudslide and a storm in Surat
Thani's Chaiya district, which damaged three homes and destroyed one, though
all the occupants got away unscathed.
So far, 26 villages in five tambons have been
affected by mudslides brought on by the storm, though authorities are working
on draining water out of the inundated areas, Surat Thani governor Theerayuth
Iamtrakool said.
Residents in several areas in Hat Yai were
told to evacuate after their homes were hit by flash floods caused by a
brimming river in tambon Phatong.
All of Saba Yoi district in Songkhla was
flooded, though the Laebaeng village was the worst hit, with all residents
having to be evacuated to a makeshift shelter at the Saba Yoi School. In
addition, 30 families in Saba Yoi tambon have been evacuated to safer places
and at least two schools in the district closed temporarily.
So far, a 3-year-old boy has been killed in
the district from flooding, making him the first fatality in the South since
floods hit the region this week. Rapidly flowing flood waters swept Natthadanai
Ratthaphong away from his mother's arms as his family was trying to escape in a
pickup truck.
Songkhla Governor Winyoo Thongsakul said he
was planning to declare the Saba Yoi, Khuan Niang and Singha Nakhon districts
as disaster zones.
In Narathiwat province, 121 people have been
evacuated from their homes along the banks of the swelling Sungai Kolok River
in three tambons in Muang district, while six other communities have been
advised to get ready to move.
A storm damaged 100 homes in Muang
municipality and eight communities have been inundated, authorities said.
News Desk
The Nation (Thailand)
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