Storm causes flooding, landslides across Thailand's North

[webfact]

Storm causes flooding, landslides across the North
The Nation


A tractor removes debris from a landslide, which blocked a road between Pua and Bo Kluea districts in Nan province. The landslide was caused by tropical storm "Mangkhut".

BANGKOK: -- Dozens of villages and paddy fields in the North are submerged under floodwater caused by the tropical storm "Mangkhut".

Torrential rains over the past three days in Nan province caused a landslide and paralysed transport in Pua district's Tambon Phukha and Bo Kluea district.

Phu Kha National Park officials were trying to remove rocks and debris from the landslide on a local road. People were advised to avoid the park and to use provincial highway number 1081 instead.

Meanwhile, the Water Resources Department's Flash Flood and Landslide Early Warning Centre instructed officials in Tha Wang Pha district to prepare to evacuate people in 13 villages to safer areas. Soldiers from Mobile Development Unit 13 were deployed to help local people get out of areas at risk.

In Uttaradit province, the heavy rain left paddy fields in two villages flooded. The provincial disaster prevention and mitigation office has warned locals in mountainous areas in Lab Lae district to keep alert for signs of flash floods and landslides. People living in Tambon Thung Yang and Tambon Phai Lhom in Lab Lae were advised to move their belongings to higher ground due to the increasing flood.

In Pai, in Mae Hong Son province, officials were closely monitoring the level of the Pai River. While the amount of water has yet to exceed critical levels, local people were told to be on standby around the clock and to prepare for another storm, Utor, which could reach the area in the near future.

Pai district chief Chathip Rujanaseri said a disaster prevention operation centre had been set up to handle any flood, but there had been no reports of damage to date.

Meanwhile, floodwater in Mae Sai, in Chiang Rai province in the far North, has been receding. Local people including merchants in Mae Sai market were cleaning out sand and mud left in their homes and shops.

Some tourists were still visiting Mae Sai. Some woke early in the morning and offered food to local monks yesterday, while others went across the border to the duty-free market in Myanmar's Tachilek town, as they learned that the Sai River level had receded over the past two days.


-- The Nation 2013-08-12

[noitom]

It's a novelty to many tourists. Going to Thailand, crossing to Myanmar to some "duty free" market. Novelties wear off.

[BrianCR]

It's a novelty to many tourists. Going to Thailand, crossing to Myanmar to some "duty free" market. Novelties wear off.

Then they have to be replaced by further "novelties", it's called life!

[theblether]

I was in a place called Baan Muang Na about 40kms from Chiang Dao during the storm, a real remote little village. It's no shock to say the rain was torrential and relentless however I did see some efficient water transfer and flood channels in action. I was impressed by how efficient they looked. A coup[le of trees came down and there was minor flooding on the road which cleared quickly and left behind mud as usual. As I drove down to Chaing Dao and onwards I expected to see a few problems but the roads were remarkably clear.

Muang Na is a mountainous area, and it seems to be the case that the locals have sussed the flash points and have taken the appropriate remedial work. I did notice the river Ping was in spate and it can't take too much more of this before bursting over. It will be interesting to see if the money invested in Chiang Mai will make a difference.

By coincidence I was in Mae Sai a month ago when a flash flood hit. The Mae Sai river there is a narrow channel and it looked like the river rose by 6 feet overnight. The rains that night were obviously heavy, however they only lasted a short time. It's the Burmese side that takes the brunt of the flooding, though there are a couple of restaurants on the Thai side and in the danger zone and I reckon they just have to accept the risk.

Mother Nature would be entitled to say, you know it rains every year, why do you persist in building in flood zones? To me that's a simple question that some people just can't answer. Humans are the problem here more than Mother Nature.

[moe666]

It's a novelty to many tourists. Going to Thailand, crossing to Myanmar to some "duty free" market. Novelties wear off.

You said it tourist

[villagefarang]

The mountain roads around Nan are beautiful but they do suffer during the rainy season, some years. Here is an example from the area a couple years back. The road crews are definitely kept busy.

[JeremyBowskill]

It's a novelty to many tourists. Going to Thailand, crossing to Myanmar to some "duty free" market. Novelties wear off.

Been doing it for 10 years, and still quite enjoy a trip to tachileik. Exactly when will it wear off? Far better IMO than sitting in Chiang Mai immigration every 3 months feeling like a naughty schoolboy. Usually stay the night in tachileik, its ok for a night or 2.

[alant]

how did the current rain fall end up as Thaksin bashing? Don't tell me he controls that as well???

[dudu]

Well some things happening up north, (Chiang mai )cause the creeks and canals around my place (Mae hia, Hang dong ) are extremely high,that is always a sign that lots of water is being released or its raining a hell of alot...

[SOTIRIOS]

........are photos of the floods 'illegal' because they might imply something about the government................???

[dudu]

........are photos of the floods 'illegal' because they might imply something about the government................???

Photos ok, just don't click like...

[metisdead]

Off topic nonsense posts have been removed as well as the replies.

[otherstuff1957]

****Off topic nonsense comments removed****

Wasn't the governments Water project blocked (postponed) by a court?

Yes, it was blocked... about two years after it started. During those two years some walls were built around some industrial estates, a few hundred billion bath vanished and nothing else of any significance was accomplished. In fact, no coherent overall plan was presented to the public. IMHO, the courts should have blocked the project immediately and not let a penny be spent until the government showed a comprehensive plan as to what they would do.

That being said, this flooding is local and probably could not be stopped anyway. There isn't much prospect of widespread flooding this year:

This map shows that there really isn't excessive rainfall in the Chao Phraya watershed. It would take some monumental mismanagement to make central Thailand flood this year.

Did I say monumental mismanagement? Perhaps I'd better buy a small boat!

Edited August 12, 2013 by metisdead

[Lite Beer]

Heavy rain causes road subsidence in Lampang
By English News

LAMPANG, Aug 12 -- Heavy rain has caused a road to subside in the northern province of Lampang, and the authorities have warned that further downpours may cause landslides and falling trees to block the roads.

Lampang highways chief Wichaya Weerakajorn ordered his staff to erect warning signs to alert motorists of the sunken road.

Forest runoff from a heavy rain eroded the approaches to a bridge on the Lampang-Phayao road in Pichai subdistrict in the provincial seat.

The authorities feared that if the rain persisted, an additional section of the road may subside.

In the nearby province of Lamphun, continuing rain led to the Ping River and an irrigation canal to overflow, flooding the residents' homes and nearby agricultural areas.

More than 30 households in the provincial seat were affected by a 30-70cm deep flash flood.

Five hundred rai of agricultural areas were inundated and the waters kept rising due to the nonstop rain.

In Chiang Mai province, deputy governor Adisorn Kamnerdsiri ordered local authorities to be on high alert as heavy rain was expected in the province due the the effect of Typhoon Utor which is now in the Philippines. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-08-12

[Rinrada]

Still raining and we have just taken delivery of a lorry load of...SAWDUST.

Building a mushroom thingy where you compress the "dust" inject the bio and hey presto in 6 weeks ....mushrooms ...or at least that the theory....

......anyway slowing down a bit so hopefully .....will turn out fine

[delh]

........are photos of the floods 'illegal' because they might imply something about the government................???

Photos ok, just don't click like...

Ooops, couldn't resist.

[Tomtomtom69]

It's a novelty to many tourists. Going to Thailand, crossing to Myanmar to some "duty free" market. Novelties wear off.

Been doing it for 10 years, and still quite enjoy a trip to tachileik. Exactly when will it wear off? Far better IMO than sitting in Chiang Mai immigration every 3 months feeling like a naughty schoolboy. Usually stay the night in tachileik, its ok for a night or 2.

Once the rains subside and the damaged roads on the Myanmar side are re-opened, we can all look forward to overland travel (with a visa) from Tachileik to other parts of Myanmar such as Yangon, Mandalay. This was supposed to be the case as of August 6th, but the flooding and landslides have postponed these road openings, possibly for another few weeks or so.

[mayday49]

It's a novelty to many tourists. Going to Thailand, crossing to Myanmar to some "duty free" market. Novelties wear off.

What?

[belg]

should we pray to brahmma that a new flood will come, ending the rice mountain scam ?

[MaxLee]

should we pray to brahmma that a new flood will come, ending the rice mountain scam ?

RICEBERG as a flood wall, nyahahahahaaaa