Flood-Related Deaths In Thailand Reach 20

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Flood-related deaths reach 20, search continues for missing persons in Krabi mudslide

BANGKOK, March 31 - Flood-related deaths in Thailand's South reportedly reached 20 today, according to the Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand (EMIT), while the search continues for missing persons in yesterday’s Krabi mudslide.

EMIT secretary-general Chatree Charoencheewakul said the 20 flood-related fatalities included 11 in Nakhon Si Thammarat, four each in Surat Thani and Krabi provinces and one in Phatthalung.

In Krabi, four people were killed and 20 others are missing in a landslide in Khao Phanom district and some 300 people in the area have been evacuated to Banhuaykaew School now being used as a temporary shelter.

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thursday before flying to Krabi’s Khao Phanom district that the army sent 10,000 relief supply bags and a number of mobile medical teams to provide emergency help the flood-stricken local population.

He also instructed the Fourth Army Region commander to dispatch teams with 15 sniffer dogs to expand search for missing persons.

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported 842,324 residents in eight southern provinces have so far been affected by severe flooding. Nearly 1,500 roads and 64 bridges were damaged by the floods and 71 portions of 61 highways were flooded, with 27 stretches of highway currently impassable.

Flood-hit Thasala Hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat has resumed outpatient services, but inpatients who were transferred to nearby hospitals have not yet been moved back as the electrical system at Thasala Hospital is not yet fully functional.

The navy is helping those stranded on Samui and Phangan islands off Surat Thani on Thursday with evacuations by two ships, HTMS Chakri Naruebet and HTMS Sukhothai, which boarded 1,200 local residents and tourists from Tao Island on Wednesday.

Nakhon Si Thammarat airport remained closed while Surat Thani’s Samui Airport is opened periodically, depending on the prevailing weather conditions.

Trains to the South are operational as far as Thachana Station in Surat Thani, but rail service further south has been suspended. Buses, however, are running as usual but some flooded terminals remain closed. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-03-31

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Thai military join flood rescue

BANGKOK, March 31, 2011 (AFP) - Thai troops joined the search for victims of deadly mudslides that engulfed homes in the flood-hit south, officials said Thursday, as naval boats rescued hundreds of tourists stuck on holiday islands.

At least 15 people have died after unseasonably wet weather deluged the homes and businesses of around a million people in what should be one of the hottest months of the year.

Around 150 troops with sniffer dogs moved in to search for the dead and missing in the southern province of Krabi after a mudslide, army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said, as at least two people were confirmed killed.

Over a week of rain has swept floodwaters across the south of the country, cutting off road and rail links and leaving tourists stuck on islands in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea as ferries and flights were cancelled.

Efforts to reach trapped visitors appeared to be making headway on Thursday as flights to Koh Samui returned to normal and the country's only aircraft carrier, Chakri Naruebet, joined the rescue effort.

The ship docked in Sattahip naval base early Thursday morning carrying 734 holidaymakers, 532 of them foreigners, who had been picked up on the islands of Koh Tao and Koh Phangan.

The navy said more frigates are expected to collect tourists from isolated islands in the Gulf of Thailand during the day.

Bangkok Airways said flights to Koh Samui were operating normally and predicted it would clear the backlog of stranded passengers on Thursday.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said ferries to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan had also resumed.

"But for small islands like Koh Tao the naval response was critical. Thousands of tourists were stuck there and there was not enough food and water, so we had to help them first," he said.

He said up to 10 people were missing in the Krabi area after the mudslide.

Local authorities confirmed two people had died as the sludge submerged around 17 homes in the area, but Thailand's disaster prevention and mitigation department indicated the death toll could be higher.

The department said another 13 people were killed in floods across other parts of the south, with nine dead in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, three along the coast in Surat Thani and one in neighbouring Phatthalung. Another 181 people were injured.

In all 81 districts of eight southern provinces have been declared disaster areas.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-03-31