Flood-Related Death Toll In Thailand Reaches 21

[webfact]

Flood-related death toll reaches 21

BANGKOK, April 1 – Thailand’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department on Friday reported a cumulative total of 21 flood-related deaths while flood continues in the South despite less rainfalls and mudslide occurred in hard-hit Nakhon Si Thammarat.

The 21 deaths include nine in Nakhon Si Thammarat, six in Krabi, four in Surat Thani and two in Phatthalung.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Nopphitam district, six bridges were destroyed by the floods and electric power poles were used as temporary stream and canal crossings. Officials carried food and medicines by helicopter to people in some villages cut off from the outside world. There was an initial report of mudslide in Sichon district Friday morning.

In Trang, a deluge from upper Nakhon Si Thammarat flowed into Trang, causing floodwaters there to rise to 3-5 metres in some districts. Roads to several popular beaches are impassable.

All 10 districts were declared disaster zones. About 32,000 houses have been flooded as flood prevention embankments along the Trang River collapsed. Two persons are missing and local authorities are trying to help people left stranded in their houses.

In Songkhla, low-lying areas near Songkhla Lake have been inundated. Local authorities installed pumps, but it is expected that it will take at least four days to drain water from flooded areas.

Chinnaworn Boonyakiat Education Minister reported 1,246 educational institutions in seven southern provinces and damages of Bt467 million are initially estimated. Rehabilitation of schools, vocational colleges and universities damaged by the floods will be done before the new semester starts May 1. Vocational colleges have set up a “Fix It Center” to help local residents fix their damaged homes with budget from the Education Ministry.

As the low pressure covering the South weakens, so rainfall in the South will drop but residents in Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Phuket, Phangnga, Krabi, Trang and Satun while locals are being warned to stay on alert for possible further flash floods.

Wind and waves in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea have weakened but waves is about 2-3 metres. Small boats are advised to stay in port or ashore.

Meanwhile, a high-pressure ridge in the upper part of the country is weakening, so temperatures are returning to normal with higher temperatures in the soon to be summer.

However, a new high-pressure ridge from China will prevail over Thailand again over the next few days. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-04-01

[asiawatcher]

Keep this up and everyone will cancel their tickets in - I bet TAT is preparing the hype campaign right now.

[RickBradford]

Does anyone familiar with this region know to what extent deforestation has played a part?

Certainly, in last year's Korat flood, the steady loss over decades of large swathes of forest to create agricultural areas seemed to aggravate the situation considerably.

[webfact]

Thai flood toll reaches 25

BANGKOK, April 1, 2011 (AFP) - Severe flooding in southern Thailand has left 25 dead and caused thousands to be evacuated, officials said Friday, after whole villages were engulfed by the rising waters.

Floods over a metre deep have washed across swathes of the south as 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.

Images in Thai media showed muddy waters reaching to the tops of palm trees, as deadly landslides destroyed homes and bridges and roads were washed away, leaving some areas cut off.

The death toll after 10 days of flooding includes five villagers killed by mudslides in Khao Phanom district, Krabi province, where troops were searching for victims in villages submerged by up to two metres of mud in some places.

Around 9,000 people have been evacuated from waterlogged areas, including nearly 1,000 holidaymakers stranded on islands in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea who were picked up by naval ships on Wednesday and Thursday.

Ferry and air services to the popular resort of Koh Samui have now resumed and the navy said its boats were no longer needed.

Bannasat Ruangjan, chairman of the tourism association of Koh Samui, who said 13,000 tourists were stranded on the island earlier in the week, said the situation had "returned to normal" and the floodwaters had receded.

But he said roads and water pipes were in need of repair in some places and 30 percent of hotel bookings had been cancelled.

The Similan National Park, a popular coral reef diving destination, was not accepting tour boats due to "unfavourable weather conditions", according to the head of the reserve Sophon Pengprapan.

Thailand's army used its helicopters to air-drop aid into isolated areas on Friday and rescue elderly people trapped by the floods.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the scale of the disaster had caught residents "off guard".

"I am very concerned about those people because many roads were washed away in the flood and a lot of farmland was submerged," he said.

All together 87 districts in eight southern provinces have been declared disaster zones.

Thailand's department of disaster prevention and mitigation said 181 people had been injured in the flooding.

Hundreds of properties, including homes, schools and temples, and more than 2,000 roads along with 222 bridges have been damaged.

The airport in Nakhon Si Thammarat remained closed after water submerged its runway a week ago, whiles trains were still unable to run in the affected region.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-04-01