Huge Landslide Blocks 11 Villages Effecting Thousands of People in Nan Province

 

NAN – A huge landslide has blocked a highway between Bo Klua and Chalerm Phra Kiat districts of Nan province in the far North, preventing people of 11 villages from travelling to Chalerm Phra Kiat district town.

The landslide has dumped more than 30,000 cubic metres of earth, about 4 metres high, on Highway 1081 at Ban Ngom in Tambon Khun Nan of Chalerm Phra Kiat district, affecting more than 5,000 people of 11 villages.

Sirichai Phukchaiphuan, director of the 2nd Highway Office, said three backhoes were dispatched to the spot. It was believed it would take about five days for the machines to remove the earth and open one traffic lane for temporary use.

The soil barrier blocking the road is about 4 metres high and totals at least 2,000 10-wheel truck loads, officials said.

After that graders and excavators would be sent to clear the earth from the highway and erect a barrier to prevent another landslide.

People in the 11 affected villages planning to travel to Chalerm Phra Kiat district were advised to make a detour of more than 100 kilometres via Bo Klua, Pua, Chiang Klang and Thung Chang districts.

On July 27, a landslide killed eight people and destroyed homes in Bo Kluea district. The victims were all members of the same family living in four homes engulfed by a torrent of mud that swept down the mountain.

Nan province governor Paisarn Wimolrat declared Ban Huay Khap, a village tucked in a valley, a disaster zone and ordered the evacuation of the 100 surviving residents.