Hail storms hit northern Thailand

After heavy rain turns to ice, houses & cars damaged & electricity cut in Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai area. Locals take refuge in temples.

Hailstones taken from the ground (Source: Facebook)

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The Weather

Hail storms batter northern Thailand

4 Feb 2013

Hailstone (Source: Wikipedia)

Heavy hail storms hit northern the provinces of Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Lampang and Lampun Sunday evening, destroying houses and causing blackouts in several areas, reports said.

Muang, Mae Chan, Mae Sai and Pan Districts in Chiang Rai provinces faced heavy rain and hail that damaged houses and cars.

In Lampang, about 10 villages with 800 homes in Serm Ngam districts were evacuated after their houses were destroyed. There were also reports of blackouts in several areas of the district.

Chiang Rai governor Pongsak Wangsamer ordered emergency units into the stricken area to assess the damage and help the residents.

Komsan Suwan-Ampha, the head of the Department of Disaster prevention and Mitigation, Chiang Mai division, said Viang Hang and Doi Saket districts were pelted with hail stones the size of eggs.

He said several houses and farms were damaged.

In Lampun province, about 600 families in Muang and Baan Thi districts took refuge in temples while about 200 families have been left on the roadside with no roof over their heads.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Breakingnews, Hail storms batter northern Thailand, 4 Feb 2013, link) 

 
Weather Vocabulary

hail  - when hard little ice balls fall from sky, instead of rain ลูกเห็บ (See Wikipedia)
hailstorm – a storm in which a lot small balls of ice fall like rain (in this case, the person is comparing the firestorm to a hailstorm) พายุลูกเห็บ

hail stone - a hard ball or pellet of ice (forms as rain passes through cloud and layers of ice are added) (See Wikipedia)
hail stones the size of eggs

pelt - hit hard; (of rain or snow) to come down quickly in large amounts ตกหนัก, กระหน่ำ
pelted with hail stones the size of eggs

batter - to hit hard and make weak ทำให้พังยับเยิน

hail storms batter northern Thailand
heavy hail storms hit northern Thailand

Heavy hail storms hit northern provinces of Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Lampang and Lampun Sunday evening, destroying houses and causing blackouts in several areas, reports said.

disaster - some very bad event that causes a lot of damage and kills a lot of people (See Wikipedia and Wikipedia List)
natural disaster - a disaster involving some event in nature such as an earthquake, storm, flood, tsunami, drought (See Wikipedia)

prevent - to stop somebody from doing something; to stop something from happening  ขัดขวาง, กัน, กีดขวาง
prevention - preventing something bad from happening การป้องกันภ้ย

disaster prevention - taking action to prevent a disaster from happening

mitigate - to make something less harmful or serious บรรเทา
mitigation - taking action to reduce the harmful effects of something  การบรรเทา  การผ่อนคลาย

disaster Mitigation - taking action to reduce the harmful effects of a disaster 

evacuate - when people are removed from an area because of danger (or told to leave the area)
In Lampang, about 10 villages with 800 homes in Serm Ngam districts were evacuated after their houses were destroyed.

blackout - when there is no electricity or light in an area for a period of time ไฟดับ
there were reports of blackouts in several areas of the district

emergency - an unexpected situation involving danger in which immediate action is necessary เหตุฉุกเฉิน
emergency unit - a small group of special police or soldiers to deal with emergencies

stricken - affected by serious problems ได้รับผลกระทบจากปัญหาหนักหน่วง
stricken area - an area affected by a serious problem

the governor ordered emergency units into the stricken area

assess - to carefully consider a situation, person, or problem in order to make a judgment ประเมิณสถานการณ์
assess the damage - look at carefully to find out how much damage has been done

residents - people who live in an area ราษฎรในบริเวณนั้น ผู้อยู่อาศัย  ผู้อาศัย ชาวบ้านในบริเวณ ผู้อาศัยในบริเวณ
assess the damage and help the residents

Chiang Rai governor Pongsak Wangsamer ordered emergency units into the stricken area to assess the damage and help the residents.

division - one part of a large organisation
Chiang Mai division
Chiang Mai division of the Department of Disaster prevention and Mitigation

Komsan Suwan-Ampha, the head of the Department of Disaster prevention and Mitigation, Chiang Mai division, said Viang Hang and Doi Saket districts were pelted with hail stones the size of eggs.

refuge - a place where you go to protect yourself from something dangerous or threatening ที่ลี้ภัย ที่หลบภัย
take refuge - go to a safe place (when the situation is dangerous)

took refuge - (past tense, event happened in the past)
about 600 families took refuge in temples

no roof over their heads - have no place to live (lost their home, have no place to stay, have no shelter)
about 200 families have been left on the roadside with no roof over their heads.