Massive Flooding has Affected More than 256,000 Families in Southern Thailand

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BANGKOK – Massive flooding has affected more than 256,000 families in 10 of Thailand’s Southern provinces, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department announced.

Chayapol Thitisak, director general of the department, told a press conference that over 805,000 people from 256,447 families in 4,338 villages from 101 districts of 10 Southern provinces were affected during the period.

Thitisak said floodwaters in Krabi had receded, but 4,289 villages in 637 tambons of 96 districts in nine other provinces were still under water.

He said his department was coordinating with local administrations, military units and other government agencies to get help to the affected people.

According to Chayapol, Pattani’s 12 districts were still affected by floodwaters, causing hardship to 55,662 people from 18,512 families from 571 villages and 20 communities. So far, the floods have claimed two lives in the province.

In Yala, nine districts have been flooded, affecting 111,301 people from 29,934 families. One person has been killed.

In Songkhla, two persons have been killed in floods that have affected 16 districts and 202,828 people from 72,078 families.

In Phatthalung, 11 districts have been hit by floods, affecting 119,424 people from 38,517 families.

Thitisak said eight districts of Trang have been hit by floods, affecting 50,467 people from 16,398 families.

Floods also affected 2,115 people from 690 families in two districts of Satun; 109,948 people from 28,936 families in 13 districts in Narathiwat; and 18 districts and affected 119,291 people from 43,212 families in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Thitisak said flash floods hit eight districts in Surat Thani, affecting 8,484 people from 2,565 families.

In Trang, the provincial administration yesterday declared eight of 10 districts flood disaster zones to speed up help to the affected people.

The provincial administration reported that on-going flooding had affected about 100,000 people from some 30,000 families in the eight districts and that three people had died so far.

Province officials said 200,000 rai of farmland and 20,000 rai of paddy fields have been inundated.

The floodwaters kept rising following five days of rains. Authorities said the floodwaters in Tambon Na Ta Luang were about two to three metres high, and several houses were entirely flooded, while about another 100 houses had water reaching their roofs.

The Wat Praisont School in Moo 4 village of in Tambon Na Ta Luang was under about two metres of water. Education zone 1 and 2 officials in the province reported that more than 50 schools had suspended classes indefinitely because of the floods.

Authorities said the situation might be worse in a few days when the upstream floodwaters from Nakhon Si Thammarat are expected to reach Trang. There will also be a high tide early this week.

Meanwhile, the Nong Chik district hospital in Pattani appealed for urgent help from troops to evacuate its inpatients yesterday after floodwaters kept rising.

Following the plea, Colonel Harnpol Phetmuang, commander of the 43rd Ranger unit, led a team of 20 rangers to evacuate 17 patients to the Pattani provincial hospital.

The troops also used sandbags to put a flood embankment around the hospital.

The rangers also handed out food and drinks to about 500 villages at a mosque in Moo 2 village in Tambon Donrak.

Meanwhile, villagers in Songkhla’s Chana district yesterday captured a two-metre-long crocodile, leading to fears among residents that there may be others in the area.

Residents of the Ban Thalor village in Tambon Saphan Mai Kaen believe the captured crocodile fled from a flood-affected crocodile farm. Officials in the district have installed water pumps to try to drain the floodwaters as soon as possible.

Source: The Nation