The flood situation in nine southern provinces of
Thailand remains critical, with roads closed and train services halted due to
high-level inundation and many villages engulfed in mudslides.
Another 84 villages, all in
Ranong, are at risk of mudslides, according to the latest warning released
yesterday. Twenty-one of them are located in high-risk areas in Muang, Kapoe,
La-un, Suk Samran and Kra Buri districts.
The entire Lang Suan district
in Chumphon has been isolated after a flash flood surrounded it last night,
submerging all roads connecting it with the outside world. Many thousands of
residents have been complaining about shortages of food and drinking water. A
large portion of neighbouring Phato district is facing a similar situation,
after abrupt forest floods cut it off from other areas.
A large number of homes in
low-lying areas around a market have been flooded, with residents moving up to
the second floor. Local radio announcements reported many phone calls asking
for help and urgent supplies of food.
Route 4 and Route 41 sections
in Lang Suan district have been submerged, prompting police to divert traffic
to shortcuts and impose reversible lanes, creating heavy traffic congestion, as
a huge number of holidaymakers return to Bangkok as the four-day New Year
holiday break ends today.
Citing a weather forecast,
provincial governor Phinij Charoenphanich said more heavy rain was likely for
another day or two while urging residents living near the base of hills to
brace for landslides and trawlers not to go offshore because of high seas.
In Nakhon Si Thammarat, a long
crack on a mountain in Ron Phibun has caused panic to local residents with
fears of falling rocks while all schools have closed until next Monday due to
heavy flooding. An Air Asia flight braved a thunderstorm to land at a local
airport with a load of frightened passengers. Nok Air and Orient Thai airways
have called on prospective passengers to monitor weather reports and flight
schedules on a constant basis.
A situation update from Nop
Phitam district has not been available as power poles were felled by strong
currents and most areas in the district have poor mobile phone signals. The
district has been regarded as "completely isolated" and has seen many
incidents of mudslides, said district chief Preecha Khumwong.
Ten local and long-distance
trains running from and to Bangkok have halted service, said railway chief
official Salaidej Saengphayak. Passengers are being transported to destinations
on chartered buses while they can refund tickets for suspended trains at full
price, he added.
Shelters have been set up at
schools for flood evacuees from many areas in Muang municipality, where an
estimated several thousand homes are under floodwater. The district’s wholesale
farm product market - the largest in the South - has also been submerged,
resulting in damage to a large number of products, prompting vendors to sell at
low prices.
Tha Sala hospital, which was
heavily inundated in the extreme flooding of last April, has evacuated 50
patients to other hospitals while medical equipment and supplies are still
sufficient but at the ready to be moved up in case floodwater levels rise, said
hospital director Kitti Rattanasombat.
A nine-year-old girl drowned
Tuesday in Yala’s Muang district, where 51,189 people from 15,300 families had
been affected and 1,645 others evacuated, and 4,640 rai of farmland and 40 fish
farms submerged or damaged. There has not been official confirmation whether
the girl’s death was the first in the current South floods.
Their Majesties the King and
Queen have provided relief supplies and other assistance, through local
authorities, to owners of seven homes in Narathiwat’s Rue Soh district which
had been destroyed completely by forest flooding.
News Desk
The Nation
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