Thai floods cause 200-km traffic tailback; death toll up to 25

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Thai floods cause 200-km traffic tailback; death toll up to 25

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Flash floods in southern Thailand washed out a bridge on the country's main north-south highway on Tuesday, backing up traffic for 200 km (125 miles) as the death toll from days of unseasonable rain rose to 25, media reported.

 

More than 360,000 households, or about a million people, have been affected by the floods that have damaged homes and schools and affected rubber and palm oil production, the Department of Disaster Prevention and industry officials said.

 

Television pictures showed abandoned cars submerged in murky waters in Prachuap Khiri Khan province where a torrent washed out a bride on the main road linking Bangkok to the south, causing the 200 km tailback, media reported.

 

The railway link to the south, and Malaysia, beyond has been severed for days.

 

Thailand's rainy season usually ends in late November but this year heavy rain has fallen well into what should be the dry season.

 

A bridge damaged by floods is pictured at Chai Buri District, Surat Thani province, southern Thailand, January 9, 2016. Picture taken January 9, 2016. Dailynews/ via REUTERS/Files

 

Southern Thailand is a major rubber-producing area and the wet weather has hit production. Palm oil plantations have also been flooded, industry officials and farmers' groups said.

 

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, one of the worst-hit provinces, television footage showed villagers commuting by boat.

 

"It's like a big pond," said resident Pattama Narai.

 

A man walks in a flooded street at Muang district in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand. REUTERS 

 

Nakhon Si Thammarat has had 493 mm of rain in the past seven days, 426 mm more than the average for this time of year, according to Thomson Reuters data.

 

Flooding regularly occurs in the May-November rainy season.

 

In 2011, widespread flooding that began in the north and flowed down to Bangkok crippled industry, killed more than 900 people and slowed economic growth to just 0.1 percent that year.

 

(Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Juarawee Kittisilpa and Jutarat Skulpichetrat; Editing by Robert Birsel; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert Birsel)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-01-10

[Sydebolle]

Scary, don't you think so? 

One bridge built by the Somchai and the Somsaks; once their quality work disappears = Thailand is divided. Let that sink in for a moment 

[worrab]

Anybody know the exact location of the highway bridge that has been washed away in Bang Saphan?

 

Edited January 11, 2017 by worrab

[poohy]

I wonder if this "bride" was crossing the bridge at the time?

[LivinLOS]

6 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

Scary, don't you think so? 

One bridge built by the Somchai and the Somsaks; once their quality work disappears = Thailand is divided. Let that sink in for a moment 

 

 

Erm.. Unless they go the Ranong way.. Apparently. 

[LivinLOS]

8 minutes ago, worrab said:

Anybody know the exact location of the highway bridge that has been washed away in Bang Saphan?

 

 

Yeah I too would like to work that factoid out.. Seems kind of relevant.. A day or two ago they showed what appears to my eyes to be the same road out, but the news item said all traffic was instructed to go Ranong Phang Nga on the 4 not the short 41 hop to Surat. 

 

Also as the 4 is a 4 lane highway (in bang saphan), hard to reconcile that route with the 2 lane bridge washed out. 

 

 

Edited January 11, 2017 by LivinLOS

[neitmoj]

7 minutes ago, poohy said:

I wonder if this "bride" was crossing the bridge at the time?

My bride was a washout too, I seem to remember. Sorry, in bad taste in the circumstances, but too tempting to resist.

[worrab]

9 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

 

Yeah I too would like to work that factoid out.. Seems kind of relevant.. A day or two ago they showed what appears to my eyes to be the same road out, but the news item said all traffic was instructed to go Ranong Phang Nga on the 4 not the short 41 hop to Surat. 

 

Also as the 4 is a 4 lane highway (in bang saphan), hard to reconcile that route with the 2 lane bridge washed out. 

 

 

Bad reporting at the moment. Original pics were of the 4 lane Highway.....but where??  Having looked at another report, the locations they have taken Bailey Bridges to are both located near Hua Hin!! And they were supposed to open the bridges BKK bound at 06.00.

 

If there were 200 kms tailbacks then they would be on the Highway outside my village as I live near Bang Saphan Noi!!

 

Only keeping an eye on things as I am meant to be driving to BKK on Monday. Hope all will be sorted by then??

 

  

[MaxLee]

If the rainy season XXXXXXXXtends so early this year 2017,........ it's time to panic........

[ratcatcher]

1 minute ago, MaxLee said:

If the rainy season XXXXXXXXtends so early this year 2017,........ it's time to panic........

This is the southern rainy season (S.W.monsoon?) in progress, but we've had some welcome heavy rain up here in Phichit over the last few days. A major disaster for the poor southerners coping with what the northerners did 6 years ago.

[toofarnorth]

43 minutes ago, neitmoj said:

My bride was a washout too, I seem to remember. Sorry, in bad taste in the circumstances, but too tempting to resist.

At least up here in t'north we still have ' A bridge too Phu Chi Fah "

[bangon04]

" In 2011, widespread flooding that began in the north and flowed down to Bangkok crippled industry, killed more than 900 people  "

 

so in Thailand widespread flooding actually saves lives by blocking or slowing down the traffic carnage....??

[swissbie]

1 hour ago, ratcatcher said:

This is the southern rainy season (S.W.monsoon?) in progress, but we've had some welcome heavy rain up here in Phichit over the last few days. A major disaster for the poor southerners coping with what the northerners did 6 years ago.

Yes, it's still ordinary rainy season in the deep south, but with unusual amounts of rainfall, and no, it's NE-monsoon.

[lavender19]

2 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

 

 

Erm.. Unless they go the Ranong way.. Apparently. 

The bridge is out in Bang Saphan so you can not get to Ranong if coming from Bkk

[SOTIRIOS]

....what....is....going....on......???

[worrab]

1 hour ago, lavender19 said:

The bridge is out in Bang Saphan so you can not get to Ranong if coming from Bkk

Yes, but where exactly???

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

4 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Scary, don't you think so? 

One bridge built by the Somchai and the Somsaks; once their quality work disappears = Thailand is divided. Let that sink in for a moment 

 

Yes, just one major road from Bangkok to the South is not good at all.   

[harness]

The southern forests have been logged extensively and are continuing to be chopped down for lumber, replaced in many places with rubber and palm plantations. See the muddy water washing through Nakorn Si Thammarat.......out of the hills.

Just checked out the satellite pictures and there looks like some more real heavy rains headed for the eastern side of the gulf.

 

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

3 minutes ago, harness said:

The southern forests have been logged extensively and are continuing to be chopped down for lumber, replaced in many places with rubber and palm plantations. See the muddy water washing through Nakorn Si Thammarat.......out of the hills.

Just checked out the satellite pictures and there looks like some more real heavy rains headed for the eastern side of the gulf.

 

Looks clear on this map for the coming days: https://www.windytv.com/?rain,10.412,103.151,6

[wakeupplease]

Not a joke especially for the people who live there feel sorry for you all having to put up with this on top of other things

 

But CNN did say how good Thailand's infrastructure was

 

All Washed Up is the correct statement

 

Nuff Said