Flashflood Causes Chaos For South Thailand

[george]

Flashflood causes chaos for Hat Yai residents

HAT YAI: Flash floods hit the southern commercial capital of Hat Yai in Songkhla province early yesterday morning, despite authorities advising residents that the water level in nearby U-tapao canal was safe.

With a green flag raised to signal a safe water level, the floodwaters inundated homes and business in the district when it struck at around 3am.

Surrounding districts and provinces were also affected by floodwaters, with an unconfirmed report stating that a 72-year-old Phatthalung man was killed.

Nakhon Hat Yai Municipality was swamped by floodwater, with residents having to scramble to get their belongings to higher ground. Municipality officials and a local foundation quickly dispatched staff and vehicles to help flood victims move their belongings.

About 300 members of the military were also assembled to help move belongings, haul away broken-down vehicles and lay sandbags.

"I am taking my three children to live with my mom. Her house is not flooded. I don't want to risk being struck by serious flooding like the one I saw in 2000," said Hat Yai resident Suree Arayapitak.

Hat Yai businesswoman Tippa-wan Saorayangura, whose business was severely inundated, said she was worried the worst was not over.

"It seems the floodwater level is rising more and more," she said.

Thepha and Rattaphum were among the other districts in Songkhla hit by the flash flood, while a 20-metre stretch of railway was also damaged.

"Train services to the deeper South [beyond Hat Yai station] are discontinued. We hope we can fix the railway and resume our normal operation tomorrow [Thursday]," said Charasphan Vajarodaya, a senior official at the State Railway of Thailand.

Songkhla Governor Somporn Chaibangyang, who chairs the provincial flood-prevention centre, publicly apologised to Hat Yai residents for failing to give them prior warning.

"We have been closely monitoring the water level in U-tapao canal and updates from the weather bureau's satellite," Somporn insisted. "But this was a flash flood that we could not detect beforehand."

The U-tapao canal is a major channel which directs water from Nakhon Hat Yai Municipality to Songkhla Lake.

The flooding was the result of continual rain since Tuesday.

Somporn said relevant agencies were working hard to drain the floodwater.

Heavy downpours also resulted in flooding in several other southern provinces. In Nakhon Si Thammarat more than 20 flat-bottomed boats were deployed to help flood victims in Lan Saka and Chawang districts, as well as Chang Khlang subdistrict. Floodwaters were more than one-metre deep in some areas.

Meanwhile, the weather bureau has forecast continuing rain for the remainder of the week, in- cluding downpours for Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.

--The Nation 2003-12-11

[Aitit]

Will do my border run to Sadao on sunday.

Anyone who can tell us about the road conditions?

As I'm driving an ordinary pickup, not a not a highheeled 4 WD.

Thanx

[Here Today]

Anyone heard what the weather conditions are around Krabi, Ao Nang, Ko Lanta? Was supposed to come down there next week, thinking of postponing.

[george]

Update:

Three dead as floods ravage five provinces

Sudden floods which hit Nakhon Si Thammarat, Yala, Surat Thani, Narathiwat and Phatthalung have claimed three lives following heavy downpours.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, forest runoff inundated Muang, Chawang, Chulabhorn, Lan Saka, Na Bon, Pak Phanang, Phra Phom, Phrom Khiri, Ron Phibun, Sichon and Thung Song districts, Nop Phi Tham and Chang Klang sub-districts after three days of heavy rain.

The floods damaged 47 roads, 28 fish ponds and 60 rai of farmland. A two-year-old boy drowned in front of his home in Lan Saka district yesterday while his parents were trying to save their belongings.

In Narathiwat, forest runoff and mudslides struck Sukhirin, Waeng, Rueso, Chanae and Muang districts after four days of heavy rain. About 6,000 families were affected. Flat-bottom boats were deployed to evacuate 90 families in three flooded villages of Waeng district.

In Chanae district, Abdulloh Jehsoh, 20, was swept away on Wednesday afternoon and his body found yesterday.

In Sukhirin district, a mudslide hit tambon Phu Khao Thong and damaged seven houses. In Surat Thani, runoff inundated a village in Ban Na Doen district, damaged a bridge and cut the road between Tha Chang and Vibhavadi.

In Phatthalung, floods hit 89 villages in seven districts, especially Kong Ra district where runoff inundated several tambons and damaged five roads and three bridges. A 72-year-old woman was reported drowned.

In Yala, floods in Raman and Muang districts affected about 770 families and prompted the evacuation of 14 families in tambon Sateng Nok, Muang district.

--The Post 2003-12-12

[george]

The Nation updates on the same topic:

Child killed as floods inundate South

A 20-month-old baby boy was found dead yesterday after being swept from his home in Lan Saka district in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Run-off waters from nearby forests swept through the boy's village as flash-floods swept through five southern provinces.

The boy's body was found near a waterway not far from his home.

The government has earmarked Bt50 million to mount emergency evacuations and distribute relief supplies to flood victims in Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla, Phatthalung and Yala following freak rainstorms on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"I believe provincial authorities can handle the situation, as flood waters are already starting to recede in many areas," Interior Minister Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, farms and many towns in Muang, Lan Saka, Phra Phrome and Ron Phibun districts were inundated. In some areas, floodwater rose as high as 2.5 metres. Military personnel have been assisting in the evacuation of people and livestock to higher ground since Tuesday night.

All schools in Muang district were closed as flooding reached levels not seen since 1988. At least two main roads in the provincial capital were closed to traffic. Rail services between Thung Song junction and Nakhon Si Thammarat were indefinitely suspended on Wednesday.

The provincial authorities have urged local residents to cooperate with evacuation efforts.

In Hat Yai, flash-floods on Wednesday prompted most Malay-sian visitors to cut short their visits, hotelier Somchat Pimthanapoon-porn said, adding, "The flood receded quickly and tourist arrivals are expected to return to normal by Saturday". He said the inundation was not as bad as the floods in 2000, although it had caused considerable damage and remained a cause for concern for local businesses.

In Phatthalung, run-off waters from the Banthad Mountains flooded seven districts although the water level has since started to subside.

Almost 2,500 residents of Yala were evacuated from parts of Muang and Raman districts. The provincial authorities remained on alert to monitor continuing scattered rainfall and the swollen Saiburi River.

--The Nation 2003-12-12

[george]

Update:

FLASH-FLOODS: Death toll rises; road link cut

Five more drown as downpours lash southern provinces

Authorities yesterday confirmed that five more people had been swept to their deaths as a result of this week’s flash-floods. They also said the main road link between Bangkok and the South was cut off by flood waters in Chumphon.

Police in Krabi confirmed that a Singaporean mother and her five-year-old son were swept away by high winds and rising tides late on Thursday.

Police said a woman they identified as “Tan Shook Fun” and her son Darryl were swept away while walking between two small islands off the coast of Krabi.

They said Tan’s husband had been unable to save them. He was treated at an emergency room then discharged. Tan was principal of the Fairfield Methodist primary school in the city-state.

Three people drowned in floods in Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday, said the chief of the provincial civilian disaster relief centre, Pensri Kaewkhumphai. They were identified as Thawatchai Phuekpon in Lan Saka district, and Pluem Somprasat and Supachai Chalem in Muang district.

Pensri said flooding continued to hit 13 districts in the province. Flooding in 19 districts and two sub-districts had affected 20,940 families, she added. If the rains stopped soon, floodwaters would recede in a few days, she said.

Provincial administration and private charities had dispatched workers to provide relief to those affected by the floods, she said.

The provincial airport was also shut for much of the day yesterday. Poor visibility due to heavy rains shut the airport at noon and all flights were directed back to Bangkok. The airport resumed operations in the evening

The main road link between the south and Bangkok was cut yesterday afternoon when several sections of the highway in Chumphon were submerged.

Water rose from a nearby canal and submerged a 700-metre-long section of the Asian 41 Highway in the province’s Muang district at about 4pm.

The floodwater was nearly a metre high, bringing traffic on both sides of it to standstill for three kilometres on both sides.

The flooded part of the highway was impassable and police were deployed to direct motorists to detour routes, said Major Sombat Phongarm, a highway police officer in Chumphon.

Motorists were, however, advised to rest rather than take the alternate route, which would be 200 kilometres through a winding mountainous road linking Chumphon and Ranong, Sombat said.

A rescue official said it was hard to tell when the floodwaters on the highway would subside.

Flash floods followed several days of heavy rains in the province. Flooding hit the provincial capital at about 5pm, submerging all main roads in the vicinity.

--The Nation 2003-12-13

[george]

Follow up:

Two Singaporeans among eight dead in Thailand floods

Unseasonal flooding in Thailand's southern provinces has left eight people dead, including two Singaporean tourists.

The Thai interior ministry says a Singaporean school principal and her four-year-old son were swept away by strong currents as they tried to walk along a ridge between two islands in Krabi province.

An official said the floods across most of Thailand's southern peninsula were receding except in the provincial capital Chumpon, where 120 millimetres of rain fell early Saturday.

--Agencies 2003-12-13

[Here Today]

Thanks, cancelled our tickets, will go south another time.