Southern floods continue, King gives aid (Updated)
The flood situation in the South has continued to worsen as His Majesty the King has provided relief bags for residents in flood-ravaged areas. Patients have been evacuated from Bang Saphan Hospital in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
The flood situation in the South has continued to worsen as His Majesty the King has provided relief bags for residents in flood-ravaged areas. Patients have been evacuated from Bang Saphan Hospital in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
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Wednesday update
King gives aid to flood victims
His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun has provided relief bags for residents in flood-ravaged southern provinces.
Speaking after an inspection of the affected areas, 4th Army chief Lt Gen Piyawat Nakwanich said he had ordered all 22 branches of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Centre to quickly provide help to victims.
Udom Petkhut, chief of the 11th Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Centre overseeing Surat Thani, Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung, said His Majesty expressed concern over the livelihoods of villagers affected by floodwater which has plagued the southern region since last week.
Mr Udom said centre staff will be deployed to hand out the relief bags to flood victims today, adding other equipment necessary for providing assistance for villagers will also be prepared.
Rescue workers on a boat patrol a flooded area in Sichon District, Nakhon Si Thammarat province, on Saturday. (Dailynews/via Reuters)
The flood situation in the South has continued to worsen after the region was pounded by consecutive days of heavy rains since last week. The downpours also triggered flash floods and landslides in several provinces.
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Chatchai Promlert said Tuesday 14 people have been killed and about 582,000 residents from 212,300 families affected by floods in 88 districts of 11 southern provinces. The 11 provinces are Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Krabi, Trang, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Ranong. He said 676 roads and 33 local bridges were also damaged by floods.
Col Sirichan Ngathong, deputy spokeswoman of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said Tuesday the NCPO has instructed the 4th Army Region to work with flood-relief agencies in providing help to flood victims.
Military forces will be deployed to help evacuate villagers to safe areas, move their belongings to higher ground and build sandbag walls to keep out floodwater. The forces will also help distribute flood-relief bags as well as provide maintenance to local roads and bridges damaged by the floods, Col Sirichan added.
A military vehicle makes its way through the floodwater at Bang Saphan Hospital in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Bang Saphan district, where more than 100 patients were being evacuated on Wednesday. CHAIWAT SATYAEM
Meanwhile, flooding forced Bang Saphan Hospital in Prachuap Khiri Khan to evacuate more than 100 patients to other hospitals on Wednesday after three reservoirs overflowed and inundated the city's downtown area on Tuesday evening.
Runoff from the Tanao Sri mountain range flowed into Khlong Loy, Wang Nam Khiew and Muang Samsib reservoirs, causing them to overflow into Bang Saphan district. Although the water had begun receding in some areas, Bang Saphan Hospital remained flooded on Wednesday. Inner areas of the hospital, which were raised one metre above ground to avoid flooding, were also inundated. Adding to the problem, the hospital’s large water pumps were not in working order.
Tuesday Evening update from our online reporters
Major flooding continued in 12 of the 14 southern provinces on Tuesday, with about 94,000 people severely affected and Trang suffering its worst inundation in 30 years.
Large areas of Chumphon, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Pattani, Phatthalung, Phuket, Satun, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Trang and Yala provinces were under water. Only Ranong and Phangnga remained relatively dry.
Fourth Army chief Piyawat Nakwanich said an estimated 90,440 people were affected in 1,071 villages. "People are in trouble, with many places isolated," he said.
Authorities would be helping the victims until the situation returned to normal, Lt Gen Piyawat said.
Floodwater was receding in Kong Ra, Pa Bon and Tamot districts of Phatthalung, while runoff was still flooding into districts around Songkhla Lake, he said.
In Nakhon Si Thammarat, 252 schools were closed, governor Chamroen Thiphayaphongthada said.
A locomotive was stuck Monday on a southern track between Phatthalung's Khuan Khanun district and Nakhon Si Thammarat's Cha-Uat, as parts of the track were submerged under floodwater, triggered by heavy rains in the South. Photo courtesy State Railway of Thailand.
Morning story
Southern floods spread to 12 provinces
Post Reporters
Households and businesses in the South have been hit hard by flooding while all train services heading to the lower part of the region are suspended after tracks were damaged by floodwater.
At least 12 provinces in the South have been affected by flooding which began last Thursday. The provinces are Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun, with tens of thousands of residents affected. According to authorities, at least 11 people have been killed in the flooding.
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) announced Monday it has temporarily halted the operation of the new Thaksinarat Special Express Train No. 31/32, running from Bangkok to Hat Yai in Songkhla. The move came after several southern railway tracks subsided when the areas were submerged under floodwater, said SRT governor Wuthichart Kalyanamitra.
Sandbags laid beside tracks in Phattalung proved unable to halt the surging flood waters. (Photo courtesy State Railway of Thailand.)
Mr Wuthichart said trains on the southern line cannot go beyond Thung Song station and the SRT is providing buses from the station to take passengers to their destinations.
The services affected by the floods include all express and rapid trains from Bangkok to Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Hat Yai, Yala and Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat, as well as all local services from Thung Song.
Koh Samui, Koh Phangan declared disaster areas
Online Reporters
Koh Samui and Koh Phangan have been placed on the disaster areas list as heavy rain continues to pound the two resort islands and other areas in Surat Thani and other southern provinces.
The Meteorological Department on Monday warned of severe weather in the region.
Flooding on Koh Samui eased on Sunday but downpours overnight left roads inundated again on Monday.
The situation looks worse due to overflowing Phru Chawaeng, the island's main reservoir, into low-lying communities on the island.
The weather office predicted rain in most areas on Koh Samui until Wednesday.
Electricity poles brought down by fallen rocks block a road on Koh Phangan in Surat Thani on Monday. (Photo by Supapong Chaolan)
On Koh Phangan, a road between Ban Tai and Tong Nai Pan, a main route for tourists on the island, was impassable after fallen mountain rocks brought down four electricity poles, causing blackouts in some areas.
Workers from the Provincial Electricity Authority later cleared the blockade and were trying to repair the damaged poles.
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