Flash Flood Kills 3 In Uttaradit

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Flash flood kills 3 in Uttaradit

By The Nation

A family of three was killed and nine other people were missing after a flash flood surged into three villages in Uttaradit province early Thursday morning.

More than 300 residents of Nam Pat district's Tambon Nam Phai were left homeless and in need of rescue as the roads to their homes were cut off by the floodwaters. The provincial relief agency was instructed by the government to construct a pontoon bridge within two days after an existing bridge collapsed.

Agency chief Surachai Thatkawin said the flash flood descended on the villages from nearby mountainous areas at around 2 am Thursday morning, sweeping away farming equipment and cattle, and felling electricity poles, causing blackouts. Initial damage estimates were not immediately available, he said.

In Sing Buri in the Central region, meanwhile, a major hospital was surrounded by onemetredeep floodwaters held back by an embankment wall, forcing the hospital to resort to tractors to transport patients. Despite the flooding, In Buri district hospital managed to dispatch mobile medical teams to help floodaffected residents.

Of the many floodaffected residents of Phitsanulok's Bang Rakam district, 78 are considered suicidal and have been put under close watch, said local public health chief Chinnawat Chomprasert.

In Nakhon Sawan, a soldier drowned while performing floodrelief duties with an Army engineers unit in a section of the Chao Phraya River in Mueang district. SgtMajor Wasant Thannithi was tasked with salvaging a capsized sandtransport barge.

An official flooddamage report yesterday said 14 provinces were now inundated, with Nakhon Sawan and Angthong the latest to be hit, while the death toll remained at 72. That figure excludes the three deaths and missing residents in Uttaradit.

-- The Nation 2011-09-10

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Uttaradit governor reveals mudslide in Nampard, Uttaradit killed 2 and caused 5 others to remain missing /TAN_Network

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Two dead, seven missing in flash flood, mudslide in Uttaradit

UTTARADIT, Sept 10 -- Two villagers were reported dead and at least seven were missing after four villages in the northern province of Uttaradit were hit by forest run-off and a mudslide, while the flood situation in many provinces is critical and worsening.

The authorities have sent search parties seeking the missing.

The Department of Mineral Resources is dispatching surveyors to conduct an updated reconnaissance of the site hit by flash flood in Nam Phai subdistrict in Nam Pat district as it was not included in the risk map prepared by the department warning of possible landslides.

The department will update the information on risk spots as Nam Phai was not one of the 5,000 villages included in the warning map.

In Phichit, the heavy rain for the whole week pushed the flood situation in critical while the water from forest run-off added the water level in the districts, particularly Bang Phai subdistrict in Bang Mun Nak, where the flood was two metres deep.

A hospital was also hit by the flood, forcing the staff to move medical equipment to set up a temporary medical unit on the road in front of the hospital.

In Phitsanulok, the 3rd Army Area Headquarters distributed the flood relief bags to flood victims in Bang Rakam district where 477 families were affected by flooding for more than one month, some areas with floodwaters three metres deep.

Nineteen schools in the district closed indefinitely, but soldiers repaired a wooden bridge at Bang Rakam School to facilitate students going to school which was expected to reopen next week.

Most schools in Ban Thi in Lamphun were closed until next week.

Flooding in Nakhon Sawan was critical with over two metres of floodwater forcing many villagers to stay in temples. More than 3,000 monkeys at Wat Krieng Krai Klang were affected by the flood as they lacked food.

In Ubon Ratchathani, both the municipality and Warin Chamrap district were hit by flooding, with 1,400 villagers evacuating to higher ground. Soldiers prepared sandbags to make makeshift dykes to hold back floodwaters.

Meanwhile, Panu Yamsri, director of the Administrative Centre for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said the nation’s floods still affected 14 provinces with 72 persons confirmed dead.

Some 174,000 households have been affected and more than 3 million rai of crops were damaged.

The Meteorological Department warned of heavy to very heavy rains over Thailand. The agency said that during Sept 10-12 weekend, an active monsoon trough lies across the Central, the East and Northeast of Thailand. The rather strong southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea, southern Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand.

Torrential rains and isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall are likely over the country.

People in at-risk areas along foothills and waterways should beware of flash flood. These areas include Tak, Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit, Phetchabun, Lop Buri, Saraburi, Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Ratchasima, Maha Sarakham, Kalasin, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, Roi Et, Mukdahan, Yasothon, Buri Ram, Surin, Si Saket, Amnat Charoen, Ubon Ratchathani, Nakhon Nayok, Prachin Buri, Sa Kaeo, Rayong, Chanthaburi, Trat, Ranong and Phang-nga provinces.

Resident of lowlands and the riversides in the Central and the East should beware of flooding during this period.

Strong winds are expected and waves in the Andaman Sea and the upper Gulf of Thailand is likely to reach two to three metres high. Shipping is advised to proceed with caution and small boats should stay ashore for two to three days. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-09-10