Trash fires cause evacuations on Koh Lanta
Phuket Gazette


Smoke from the trash fires on Koh Lanta has forced several families with babies to evacuate their homes. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: -- Villagers on Koh Lanta, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, have evacuated their homes because of respiratory problems caused by garbage fires at a landfill. Local authorities say they are unable to control the fires.

The villagers sought to publicize the trash burning problem about three weeks ago by appealing to the Krabi Press Club, saying that local authorities had ignored the issue (story here).

Again yesterday, villagers reported to the Krabi Press that the high temperatures were causing more fire and smoke in areas as far as two kilometers from the landfill.

“We reported our problem to the press last month, but we are still being ignored,” said Wissanu Kokyai, a village headman in the area.

“About 10 households with babies have been moved to live somewhere else because of respiratory problems caused by the smoke,” Mr Wissanu said.

San Wachedi, president of the Saladan Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), admitted the landfill area was the responsibility of the Saladan OrBorTor, but said, “It is beyond our authority to fix the problem.”

“Saladan OrBorTor officers tried to put out the fire with water, but it did not work because the landfill is too big.

“For now, I have ordered a backhoe to spread out the garbage and we will continue spraying water on it as a temporary solution,” Mr San said.

“I will take the problem to the district chief and Krabi governor to ask for help in resolving it,” Mr San said.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Trash-fires-cause-evacuations-on-Koh-Lanta-20666.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-04-02

Good to know that they have complete emergency back up plans in place......NOT!

What a terrible situation. I sympathise with these poor people.

Only way to put underground fires out, is to dig them up and cool down the earth.

San Wachedi, president of the Saladan Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), admitted the landfill area was the responsibility of the Saladan OrBorTor, but said, “It is beyond our authority to fix the problem.”

Thai logic in a nutshell !!!!

time to start educate the children and bigger children (thai adults) about the dangers of fire, smoking, drinking ... at school, at a young age, instead of repeating same things (song) every day

Only way to put underground fires out, is to dig them up and cool down the earth.

Excuse my ignorance but how do these fires start ...??? Mini explosions caused under ground by all the gases that gather and erupt from the garbage... I guess it is like houses in Canada quite some years ago that blew up which had been built on covered up garbage dumps and finally all the erupting gases from the below garbage exploded and blew up the houses too ...

Scary stuff!

Trouble in paradise that was. One day the whole of Thailand will be like this, a trashed and polluted landscape.

Phuket is already there, monsoonwinds bring in the trash, kilometers of it on the beaches, raw sewage, they won't let on to any kind of fecal bacterial counts