More Diaster Zones Named In Lampang As Downpours Continue In Thailand

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More diaster zones named in Lampang as downpours continue

By THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Floods have forced officials in Lampang province to designate more districts as disaster zones after heavy downpours, while many other provinces in the North and Northeast have also been severely affected by heavy rain.

The Meteorological Department yesterday issued a warning at 4.30pm on its website to alert people on hill slopes and near waterways in the North, the Northeast, the upper Central and the East to heavy rain and possible flash floods from late yesterday till tomorrow.

Lampang Governor Supakit Boonyarittipong said 32 tambons in seven districts were now disaster zones, up from 15 tambons in five districts previously announced last week, after runoff and flash floods affected more than 200,000 residents (from 44,300 families), and damaged 12,000 rai of farmland.

Supakit said it was the worst natural disaster in five years. He estimated total damage at about Bt100 million.

The seven districts are Muang, Thoen, Muang Pan, Koh Kha, Hang Chat, Chae Hom and Wang Nua.

Flash floods ravaged Muang district in Mae Hong Son province early yesterday morning, causing people to rush to move their belongings to higher and safer places.

Authorities then rushed to survey the damage.

Reports said landslides caused a road to Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu in the same district impassable for tourists who travelled to visit the temple.

But there had been no injuries or deaths there so far, Mae Hong Son Deputy Governor Thanin Suphasaen said.

In Phrae province, a local waterway called Huai Mae Kham Mee in Rong Kwang district overflowed and sent floodwater into locals' homes and nearby farmland in tambon Phai Thone and tambon Huai Rong after long-lasting heavy rain.

District chief Songrit Kaewsuti said the flood situation was the most severe in 50 years.

He said that two assistance centres had been set up in tambons to help affected locals.

In Si Sa Ket, Governor Kong-ekwilas Rujiwattanaphong held a meeting yesterday with relevant state agencies, including district chiefs, to seek measures to cope with possible floods and landslides.

They agreed to set up special centres in districts and elsewhere in the province to handle the problems, Kong-ekwilas said.

They were closely monitoring rainfall in Khun Han, Phu Sing and Kantharalak districts, as well as warnings by the Meteorological Department.

He said they would inform locals in Khun Han and Phu Sing districts to beware of possible landslides, as they were risky areas.

Runoff reportedly hit over 700 residences, plus a market and farmland in Wang Pong, Wichien Buri and Nong Phai districts in Phetchabun province. A few parts of the Chaiyaphum-Nakhon Sawan road were also cut off, from km71 to km77, making the road impassable.

Authorities rushed to drain floodwater in a community hit by continuous downpours in Muang Kalasin municipality.

-- The Nation 2010-08-29

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Flash floods cut roads in northern Thailand; Rice fields damaged

REGIONAL DESK, Aug 29 -- Villagers in northern Thailand have been evacuated to higher ground while crops are damaged and a number of roads have been flooded, cutting off some areas from the outside world floods caused by heavy rainfall and water runoff from nearby mountains continue to trouble the region.

In Phrae province, 10 villagers were carried away by flash floods while they watched water runoff hitting their village and damaged a concrete bridge. Nine were able to swim to shore, but another was swept away but retrieved by rescue workers one kilometer downstream.

The 52-year-old woman was sent to a hospital in Rong Kwang district for treatment.

Emergency officials said flooding in other northern provinces including Phitsanulok, Phichit and Chiang Mai remained critical as heavy rains continued. Floods in some areas were over one metre deep, impassable for vehicles.

Many village homes in Phitsanulok are under water and floods had destroyed over 10,000 rai of rice crops. Several villages were cut off from the outside world. Emergency officials declared Noen Maprang district a disaster zone and warned villagers to prepare for evacuation to higher ground as flash flood along with water runoff from a mountain are expected soon.

Over 500 houses in Phichit province are now flooded. The main road linking the province with Phetchabun is submerged and vehicles cannot pass through.

In the northern city of Chiang Mai, over 20 spots in the heart of the city are flood-affected as provincial authorities are pumping the water.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in his weekly address on state television in Bangkok early Sunday asked the public to pay attention to weather reports from the Meteorological Department closely as more heavy rains are expected.

Mr Abhisit said he had ordered the pertinent ministers and government agencies to provide help to affected people. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2010-08-29

[asiawatcher]

This continues to happen yet we still see no attempt to harness the annual waters and spread them Eastward for irrigation and farm preservation.

[thaimelody]

Lots of development on pavements(sidewalks) public parks (vote winners) and huge bloody mile markers for lampang but no real action against the flood-drought cycle