Thai Flood Death Toll Climbs To 35

[webfact]

Thai flood toll climbs to 35

BANGKOK, April 2, 2011 (AFP) - Flooding across southern Thailand has killed at least 35 people, officials said Saturday, as unseasonably wet weather deluged the homes and businesses of around two million people.

Victims were either swept into the rising waters or buried in mudslides as the heavy rains inundated homes and washed roads and bridges away in what should be one of the hottest months of the year.

Flood waters, more than two metres deep in some places, have continued to spread despite easing rainfall in recent days, while waterlogged soil has heightened the risk of landslides.

Thousands of people have been forced to move into temporary shelters as the military continued to help evacuate those most at risk on Saturday.

Authorities said the toll had reached 15 in the hardest-hit province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, eight along the coast in Surat Thani, six in Krabi, and two in each of Phatthalung, Chumphon, and Trang provinces.

Mudslides have swamped at least one whole village in Khao Phanom district, Krabi province, and officials said five people are still missing in the area.

Bad weather also caused thousands of tourists to be stranded on islands in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea earlier in the week, but ferry and air links have now resumed to most holiday areas.

Ten provinces are now affected by the flooding, after waters reached Satun and Narathiwat, near the Malaysian border, according to Thailand's department of disaster prevention and mitigation.

More than 100 districts in the ten provinces have now been declared disaster zones and nearly 6,000 people are in temporary shelters after 11 days of floods following evacuation by the government.

Rail access to the region was still halted on Saturday, while the airport at Nakhon Si Thammarat remained closed.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-04-02

[webfact]

Death toll in flooded South reaches 35

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, April 2 -- At least 35 people have been drowned and many are still missing following recent heavy rains, landslides and water runoff in southern Thailand, officials said Saturday.

Relief supplies could be delivered to flood stricken people, but at a slow pace, as many roads are cut off from the outside world.

By early Saturday, 15 people were reported killed in Nakhon Si Thammarat, eight in nearby Surat Thani, six in Krabi, and two each in Phatthalung, Chumphon and Trang provinces, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

The Department said about 558,300 households in the South were severely affected by floods and mudslides while 24 roads were impassable to vehicles and the airport in Nakhon Si Thammarat was still closed due to heavy flooding. Southbound train services from the capital would stop at Tha Chana station in Surat Thani, while ferry services in the province have now resumed as normal.

Theera Mintrasak, governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, said more than 20,200 people in his province had been evacuated to higher ground for their safety while damages were initially estimated at over Bt1.5 billion. Although floodwater levels had started receding, several villages were still impacted and inhabitants unable to contact the outside world.

The Fourth Army Area Command which is responsible for security in the South along with border patrol policemen have prepared eight helicopters on standby ready to evacuate villagers round-the-clock, Mr Theera said. Four people out of eight were rescued from a mountain by a police helicopter while attempts to help the rest were ongoing.

Officials in Trang province said Buddhist monks had to travel in boats to receive alms as the floodwater around their temple was higher than two metres. All 10 districts in the province which lies along the Andaman Sea are now declared flood disaster zones and more than 100,000 people are affected.

More than 20 houses in Trang were completely destroyed due to strong current resulting from rising floodwaters as the province was overrun by water runoff from Nakhon Si Thammarat province. Over 30 roads in the 10 districts were cut off because of high water level.

The government’s committee to assist flood victims in the South plans to seek cabinet approval for an allocation of Bt1.5 billion during a meeting next Monday, as concerned officials are assessing damages in the region. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-04-02

[Nisa]

[Lite Beer]

Thailand's flood death toll reaches 40

BANGKOK, April 3 – Thailand’s flood-related death toll reached 40 on Sunday, according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, while several hundred villagers in the southern province of Trang are now stranded inside their homes as some areas are still under over three metres of floodwaters.

The forty deaths include 17 in Nakhon Si Thammarat, 10 in Surat Thani, 7 in Krabi, and 2 each in Trang, Phatthalung and Chumporn provinces.

At least four villages in Trang’s Kantang district remained submerged with the water levels higher than three metres in some areas, practically inundating the roofs of the houses, officials said. The situation became worse early Sunday as three more flood embankments collapsed, making it a total of five broken water embankments, following rising seawater and heavy rains.

Officials said villagers living in about 5,000 homes in more than 200 villages had been evacuated after flood levels reached the roofs.

Relief officials had to travel by boats to distribute boxes of food to flood-stricken villagers to relieve their hardships.

In nearby hard-hit Surat Thani province, doctors from the capital of Bangkok are being dispatched to the province Monday to replace local doctors who have been working almost round-the-clock since March 23, said Dr Natthawut Prasertsiripong, public health officer in the province. Homes of some 1,500 doctors, nurses and public health officials were also under water but they were unable to take leave to look after their belongings.

Dr Natthawut said what doctors in Surat Thani needed urgently now was trucks converted into emergency ambulance so that patients at 22 hospitals, of which most of them are now under deep floodwater could be evacuated to other hospitals. Only about 10 patients could be transferred daily to other hospitals presently. Also, medical equipment at flood-hit hospitals was now damaged.

As the amount of rainfall in some southern provinces have lessened from last week, the general situation in the resort provinces of Phangnga and Songkhla, near the Thai-Malaysian border, have improved with tourists, both locals and foreigners,starting to return home.

Officials in Songkhla said two districts were still under heavy floods with farmland of over 6,000 rai damaged. However, no casualties in the province were reported.

Regarding impact from flooding on transportation, train service has been suspended In Surat Thani, due to heavy flooding while in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Trang, where floodwaters started to recede in some areas, train service had partly resumed on some sections of the railways.

Southern line buses to destination on the eastern coast from Surat Thani downward has been suspended but buses bound to Andaman coastal provinces of Phuket, Phangnga, Krabi and Ranong are now operational. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-04-03

[Lite Beer]

Floods in South have eased

By Sodchuen Limkriangkrai.

BANGKOK, 03 MARCH 2011 (NNT)- The Governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province Thira Mintrasak said he had been informed that the rainfall had lessened, resulting in the alleviation of floods but there were still problems in the areas close to the rivers and streams due to landslides and flashfloods with the increased amount of flood water in plain area, deep basin and the water supply area provided for the victims in Sichon District

The recue team has reached some areas by helicopter, and found 8 people stranded with aid provided to affected people.

As for the hospital in tha Tha Sala District, normal operation had resumed. People in Nakhon Si thammarat Province had been repatriated to their residences, except communities at the area of high level canal. However, the majority of people felt relieved from the concerns over earlier severe inundations.

The operations at Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport and trains departing from Nakhon Si Thamarat to Bangkok are still unavailable. Meanwhile the natural disaster warning center has warned the public in the risk prone area to be aware of danger and stay up to date with weather reports for a few more days.

-- NNT 2011-04-03

[Lite Beer]

Thailand flood toll reaches 40

BANGKOK, April 3, 2011 (AFP) - The death toll from heavy flooding in

southern Thailand has risen to 40, the government said Sunday, with

thousands of people forced to live in temporary shelters

More than a week of heavy rain -- in what is usually one of the

hottest months -- has caused floods in 10 of Thailand's 77 provinces,

submerging homes, triggering landslides and washing away roads and

bridges.

As of Sunday, the death toll stood at 17 in hard-hit Nakhon Si

Thammarat province, 10 in Surat Thani, seven in Krabi, and two in each

of Phatthalung, Chumphon and Trang, the department of disaster

prevention and mitigation said.

A mudslide swamped at least one whole village in Khao Phanom district,

Krabi province.

Bad weather last week stranded thousands on islands in the Gulf of

Thailand and Andaman Sea, prompting the government to send in the navy

to rescue people from Koh Tao and Koh Phangan, where food and water

was running low.

Ferry and air links have since resumed to most holiday areas.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday called for people to be on

alert for any new flood or mudslide warnings, saying that while the

rains have eased, waterlogged soil remained a concern.

"People should cooperate with the authorities when there are warnings.

Do not think it will never happen," he said in his weekly television

programme, speaking live from flood-stricken Surat Thani province.

He said the government would discuss assistance for people affected by

the floods at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

The new disaster comes just months after devastating flooding across

Thailand late last year which left more than 200 people dead.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-04-03