Heavy flooding in southern Thailand

[george]

Southern rail link under water

Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phetchaburi worst hit

Tourism in Hua Hin and Cha-Am badly affected

Tourism badly affected by heavy floods in South Thailand

Thai railway chaos: Floods hit trains to South

Any forum members affected? Live reports, please!

If you have a digital camera, please post some pics here or email them to [email protected]! Thanks in advance!

[george]

One can wonder why the government has "relesed water from three dams"??? Where they forced to do that for some reason, or was is just a little bit "too much water" they released ???

Severe flooding in Thailand

Flooding in Thailand has forced thousands of people from their homes and severed the railway line to the south of the country.

Several areas in provinces to the south of Bangkok were inundated when authorities released water from three dams after very heavy rain last week.

Officials say there were no casualties, but they are providing emergency food and shelter to tens of thousands of people forced from their homes.

A railway official said trains to the south and beyond to neighbouring Malaysia have been cancelled.

More rain is expected to hit the area.

26/10/2003 16:47:11 | ABC Radio Australia News

[george]

We get flooded with more news about the situation in South Thailand:

New flash floods expected

Floods strand tourists

26/10/2003 09:05  - (SA)  

Bangkok - Flash floods wreaked havoc in southern Thailand Sunday, cutting rail and road links, stranding tourists and sparking fears for the lives of at least 20 fishermen missing in heavy seas.

All rail service between Bangkok and the southern provinces has been suspended since Saturday when tracks were inundated by floods brought on by heavy late monsoon rains.

The main road link south, the Petchkasem Highway, also was closed by the flood waters which have risen steadily since Friday night when water from three dams was released to relieve pressure.

The Thai navy was engaged in search and rescue operations in the Gulf of Thailand Sunday, trying to locate at least 20 fishermen in several boats that went missing off the southern province of Songkhla.

Some of the missing were aboard a trawler that sank in the heavy seas and officials held out little hope for their survival.

One fisherman was badly injured on Saturday when heavy seas caused some equipment to slide across the deck of his ship and crush his leg.

Sukumarn Sritula, an official of the State Railways of Thailand, said a total of 64 train services were cancelled since Saturday and it was unknown when they would be resumed.

"The water level is still too high," Sukumarn told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on Sunday. "Service will remain closed the rest of today. Tomorrow we'll take a look at the damage and begin repairs.

She said she had "no idea" when rail service from Bangkok to the south would be resumed.

Water levels rose as high as 50 centimetres along some stretches of track, but Sukumarn said the level had fallen to 38 centimetres by Sunday afternoon.

More than 10 000 people were turned away from Bangkok's Hua Lampong train station as a result of the suspension of service.

Highway officials said the worst road damage was in Petchaburi province, particularly around the tourist resorts of Hua Hin and Cha Am, 177km south of Bangkok.

Although the main highway was flooded, some alternate routes were open to buses and heavy trucks.

Residents of Petchaburi, Prachuab Khiri Khan and surrounding provinces were bracing for further floods from a tropical depression developing over Myanmar (Burma) and the Andaman Sea.

Meteorological department officials said the new storm could worsen floods in Thailand's upper southern provinces and trigger flash floods in central Thailand and in the far south. - Sapa-DPA

[sbk]

sorry george, no photos, koh phangan wasn't too adversely affected. but that is why we still haven't been to surat thani to check on citizenship. if the weather holds we go tomorrow. I'll take my camera and see if I can get any good shots of people sitting on their roof with all their worldly possessions.

[george]

sorry george, no photos, koh phangan wasn't too adversely affected. but that is why we still haven't been to surat thani to check on citizenship. if the weather holds we go tomorrow. I'll take my camera and see if I can get any good shots of people sitting on their roof with all their worldly possessions.

Great, thanks in advance, sbk!

[george]

Update from todays The Nation:

Rail link to South remains closed off

Published on Oct 27, 2003

Flash floods hit Kanchanaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan yesterday, causing the rail link to the South to remain closed.

The floods, caused by heavy downpours, hit Dan Makham Tia district in Kanchanaburi at 3:30am yesterday, affecting some 400 families.

Deputy Kanchanaburi Governor Therdsak Kannasut said the hardest-hit spot was under about 5.4 metres of water at one point, but the water receded to settle at about 4m later in the day.

The water inundated several main roads and submerged about 4,000 rai of farmland.

He said there were no reports of casualties but the provincial administration had put the relief operation centre on standby.

The heavy rains were unleashed by a small storm that started in the Gulf of Thailand and moved ashore.

In Prachuap Khiri Khan, waters released from Pranburi Dam reached the Pranburi Municipality area and flooded houses and business premises at midnight.

Pranburi district chief Thawatchai Wisamol said the situation had been aggravated by heavy rains that continued throughout yesterday.

He said several food-processing factories in the district had been hit by the floods, causing damage estimated at more than Bt100 million.

Thawatchai said the railway tracks in the district were also inundated, cutting rail transportation links to the South.

However, road transportation between Bangkok and southern provinces was not affected.

--The Nation 2003-10-27

[george]

Another update from Reuters:

Tropical storms trigger Thai floods

BANGKOK, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Five days of heavy monsoon rains have brought severe floods to Thailand, killing a 13-year-old boy, forcing hundreds of people from their homes and disrupting road and rail transport, officials said on Monday.

At least 200,000 people have been affected in eight provinces. More than 1,600 people were evacuated from homes inundated by up to two metres (six feet) of roof-high water, Interior Ministry officials said.

"This is the worst flooding in my memory," said Governor Kitipong Sunanant of Petchaburi Province, one of the worst hit areas 125 km (78 miles) southwest of Bangkok.

"We got 200-300 mm of rainfall in the past few days, forcing us to release more water from an overflowing dam here," he told Reuters, referring to 7.87-11.81 inches of rain.

The officials said the floodwaters cut nearly 1,000 roads and disrupted rail traffic between central and southern Thailand.

A schoolboy slipped and drowned in fast-running water in Petchaburi on Friday and rescue workers were still searching for his body, they said.

The rising water caused dams and reservoirs to overflow in nearby Prachuab Khiri Khan and Ratchaburi provinces over the weekend, but the rain had stopped in most areas on Monday and the water was receding slowly, they said.

About 20 Thai and Cambodian fishermen have been missing since last week after two trawlers were hit by storms and capsized in the Gulf of Thailand.

[Kan Win]

Update from todays The Nation:

Rail link to South remains closed off

Published on Oct 27, 2003

Flash floods hit Kanchanaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan yesterday, causing the rail link to the South to remain closed.

The floods, caused by heavy downpours, hit Dan Makham Tia district in Kanchanaburi at 3:30am yesterday, affecting some 400 families.

Deputy Kanchanaburi Governor Therdsak Kannasut said the hardest-hit spot was under about 5.4 metres of water at one point, but the water receded to settle at about 4m later in the day.

------------------------------------------------------

However, road transportation between Bangkok and southern provinces was not affected.

--The Nation 2003-10-27

Spent 10 day in Kan on my A.P.E.C. hol's out of BKK.

The dams in Kan are the lowest I have seen for some time since last year.

The flood mentioned was, me think, near Supanburi which boarders Kan.

No problems getting back to BKK today.

Also no rain for 2 weeks until the week-end.

[george]

Worst floods in 30 years subsiding

Train service resumed

Seasonal floods in two southern Central provinces were receding yesterday, leaving damage estimated at Bt500 million over four days.

Train service from Bangkok passing through Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan resumed at noon yesterday following an unprecedented three-day halt.

Throughout the crisis, the Royal household kept in close contact with provincial authorities to monitor developments and coordinate relief supplies, Deputy Interior Minister Pramuan Ruchanaseree said.

The government earmarked Bt500 million for rehabilitation and Bt200 million to speed the drainage of runoff, he said.

After returning from London yesterday morning, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was briefed on the situation.

Six districts in Phetchaburi saw 151,567 rai of farmland and 510 fish farms devastated, while 7,406 head of cattle were lost, he was told.

In Prachuap Khiri Khan, the toll was 74,014 rai of farmland, 15,365 cattle and 2,144 fish farms.

Water levels at three major reservoirs and three dams had returned to normal.

Overflow from rivers and water released from swollen reservoirs and dams following torrential monsoon rains over the weekend helped produce what is believed to be the worst flooding in 30 years.

The Public Health Ministry sent mobile medical teams to care for 100,000 residents in the flood-hit areas. It also distributed 40,000 first-aid kits and stocked up on medical supplies in anticipation of flood-related illnesses.

Agriculture Minister Sora-at Klinprathum said loan repayments would be extended for farm victims.

The Industry Ministry approved the granting of emergency loans at 1 per cent interest to 43 small- and medium-scale manufacturers in the flood-hit provinces.

In Prachuap Khiri Khan, rangers at Sam Roi Yod National Park were working overtime to channel run-off into the sea, while Pran Buri district was submerged under 1.5 metres as high tide slowed flood drainage.

In Phetchaburi, irrigation officials deployed machines to build temporary waterways to speed up the drainage.

The Nation 2003-10-29

[george]

Seems like the situation is getting better...

Bangkok mops up after deadly floods

BANGKOK (AFP) - Hundreds of Thais began returning home Wednesday after fleeing floods which inundated parts of southern and central Thailand, leaving three dead and affecting more than 200,000 people, an army spokesman said.

One district out of 17 submerged by flooding in Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ratchaburi and Kanchanaburi provinces remained under threat but the rest were improving, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said a total of three people had been killed in the flooding caused by torrential downpours which are estimated to have caused at least one billion baht (25 million dollars) damage.

Some 209,633 people from the four provinces were hit by the heavy flooding, and 1,609 were evacuated from their homes.

Soldiers helped evacuees in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Pranburi district shift back to their homes, an army spokesman told AFP, but they were waiting for water levels to recede elsewhere before deeming it safe for evacuees to return.

--AFP 2003-10-30