Vehicles drive through floodwater in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bang Saphan district yesterday.

FLOODING

Thousands flee homes around Prachuap

Rescue workers using rubber dinghies to help victims; as 'high' Mekong threatens towns in Northeast

Thousands of families in many parts of Prachuap Khiri Khan and Chumphon were ordered to evacuate to higher ground yesterday as relentless flooding continued to cause widespread destruction.

In Prachuap Khiri Khan's Bang Saphan district, floods have already inundated temples, houses, markets and farms.

Bang Saphan district chief Pradit Yamanan announced through a community radio station that Bang Saphan was now an emergency zone. Rescue workers and volunteers were rushing to help flood victims, using rubber boats.

"We have been closely monitoring the situation. During the past two days, we have regularly issued warnings to residents," said Tambon Kamnerd Noppakhun Municipality mayor Santichai Prasertying.

Careful monitoring of the situation had given Bang Saphan Hospital enough time to transfer all of its 42 patients to other medical facilities.

"We started the transfer at 9am and the process was completed before the floodwaters arrived," the hospital's director Anuthep Malota said yesterday.

Prachuap Khiri Khan had suffered from continuous downpours over the past few days.

In Chumphon, floodwaters had covered Muang Chumphon, Pathiu and Tha Sae districts since Monday night. In the worst-hit areas, floodwaters reached 1.5 metres.

The Asia Road in the province was now knee-deep in water and inaccessible to small vehicles. Many local schools were closed until the situation returned to normal.

Chumphon was yesterday declared a disaster-hit area, with Tha Sae district singled out as being at risk from landslides.

Deputy Chumphon Governor Veera Srivathanatrakoon urged people in risky areas to move their belongings to higher ground.

"Don't wait till the floods arrive," he said, urging residents to closely watch the flood situation and to keep abreast of any announcement from local authorities.

The floods have already affected more than 4,000 families in Chumphon.

In the Northeast, the water level in the Mekong River was also rising rapidly prompting local leaders to be on high alert.

In Ubon Ratchathani's Phosai district, all village heads were instructed to report the water level in their area every hour.

"If a flood threatens to hit, officials will be dispatched to provide assistance," Phosai district chief Kuankid Chalotornrangsi said.

In Ubon Ratchathani's Khemmarat district, Tambon Khemmarat Municipality mayor Vachira Viseschart said tents had been erected to serve as temporary shelters for people who might be affected by the imminent flooding.

"We have prepared relief items for them too," he said, adding he believed the floodwaters would arrive within the next few days because the Mekong River was very high.

The Meteorological Depart-ment said sudden downpours would continue in Nan, Phrae, Uttaradit, Nong Khai, Nong Bua Lamphu, Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Amnart Charoen, Kalasin, Roi Et, Ubon Ratchathani, Chanthaburi, Trat, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Ranong and Phang Nga.

The Nation

CHIANG MAI

More floods hit homes near the Night Safari park

Mae Hia residents forced to scramble to safety for second time in two weeks

Dozens of Chiang Mai residents had to scramble out of their windows to escape raging flash floods yesterday that ravaged their hometown for the second time this month.

"With the water rushing in so furiously, it's impossible to open the door out to get out because the torrent was pushing in," one flood victim said.

About 30 houses along the Mae Hia waterway were submerged under as much as 1.2m of floodwater for more than four hours early yesterday morning.

Backhoes were immediately brought in to enlarge the waterway, allowing the water to flow more easily. The situation had returned to normal by 8am, but significant property damage was reported.

"The floods damaged hundreds of electrical appliances. A lot of vehicles also broke down after being submerged for too long," Tanawat Yodjai, the chairman of the Mae Hia Tambon Administrative Organisation, said.

He said run-off water from Doi Suthep and Doi Kham had caused the flash floods. With the vast boundaries of the Chiang Mai Night Safari and the International Horticultural Exhibition sealed against floods, running rainwater caused by a heavy downpour could only go down the Mae Hia waterway.

"The waterway is also shallower because of encroachment," Tanawat said.

He said his organisation had received Bt10 million from the government to dredge the Mae Hia waterway and build embankments. He said the funds would be spent only on critical areas because it would take up to Bt54 million to construct an embankment along one 6km stretch of the waterway.

A landslide temporarily blocked the route to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep early yesterday. However, officials had cleared the road by 8am.

In the northern province of Lampang, more than 150 houses in Hang Chat district were flooded. Some bridges were also damaged.

"We have to repair the bridges otherwise many students won't be able to get their schools," Ban Mae Tan Noi village head Teerawat Sriwanchai said. The flood had subsided by the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department said heavy downpours would continue in the North and Northeast. The department urged people in Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Nan, Phrae, Uttaradit, Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, Nong Khai, Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Maha Sarakham, Roi Et, Yasothon, Si Sa Ket, Amnat Charoen and Ubon Ratchathani to brace for possible flash floods.

The Nation

Patients, prisoners shifted as Nan flood crisis worsens

By Jutarat Tongpiam

22 August 2006

Heavy floods yesterday inundated more areas in the northern province of Nan, damaging homes, roads and farms, as well as forcing the evacuation of many people, including prisoners and hospital patients.

The Nan Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Center reported that all the villages in Tha Wang Pha district had been inundated, included some that have never before been flooded.

The center called for more manpower, flat-hulled boats and helicopters from the Phitsanulok and Lampang disaster prevention and mitigation centers, as well as the army base in Phitsanulok.

The center also reported that the body of Nop Panin, one of the two villagers swept away by the flash floods on Saturday, was found yesterday, but the other is still missing.

Meanwhile, caretaker Interior Minister ACM Kongsak Wanthana said he had assigned the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department to urgently help people in affected areas in Nan and evacuate residents in high-risk areas to higher ground.

He added that the situation is likely to improve if no rain falls in the next few days. ACM Kongsak is yet to visit the affected areas. He told the media: “I want local officials to concentrate on helping the people instead of worrying about having to greet me.”

Yesterday, the floodwaters rose to 7.40 meters near the Nan Forestry Office in Nan municipality. The rising waters forced Nan prison officials to evacuate more than 500 prisoners to a temporary prison in the province’s highest area – Khao Noi hill.

Nan prison director Prasert Pankratok said that the prison authority cooperated with the police and officials of other prisons nearby in the evacuation operation. “We have not received any help from the government so far,” Prasert said.

He added that many people, including children and the elderly, remain isolated in their communities. “We need more flatboats to rescue people in the municipal areas. Most of the flatboats here have already been sent to help the people at Tha Wang Pha district,” he said.

Yesterday, Army Region Three set up its operations center in Phitsanulok province to help solve the flood problems in the North, and coordinate with the military operations center in Nan. Besides sending military personnel and flatboats to the affected areas, the army also sent two helicopters to find and airlift people, as well as transport food, medicines and other necessities to flood victims.

The military airport in Nan is being also used as a temporary shelter for flood victims.

The rising floodwaters have also compelled Nan hospital to move its 300 patients and medical equipment upstairs.

Meanwhile, caretaker Public Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat said that the ministry yesterday sent its inspector, 20,000 sets of basic medicines and about 60 mobile medical units to help the people in affected areas of Nan province.

“We sent our medical teams by car, boat and helicopter to provide medical treatment to everyone affected by the heavy floods in Tha Wang Pha district’s 10 villages,” Phinij said.

He said he had also ordered hospitals near Nan to coordinate with the regional army command in case of any urgent need to transfer critically ill patients for further treatment. All public healthcare centers in the country have been put on standby to help flood victims around the clock, he said.

The ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Prach Boonyavongviroj, said more than 1,500 flood victims went to the medical mobile units for wound dressings and anti-tetanus vaccinations, resulting in a shortage of the vaccine.

“We have also ordered the Mental Health Department to send its psychiatrists and psychologists to join the medical mobile teams to provide psychological consultations to the flood victims,” Prach said.

According to Nan’s Public Health Officer, floodwaters have damaged 10 healthcare centers, including the three centers in Tha Wang Pha.

Yesterday, the Meteorological Department forecast that the floodwaters from Nan’s Tha Wang Pha and Muang Nan districts will flow into Wiang Sa, Na Noi and Na Muen districts in a few days. It also warned residents along the banks of the Nan River to be prepared for flooding up until tomorrow.

It warned that heavy rainfall will persist in the upper northern region, including Mae Hong Son, Tak, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang and Sukhothai provinces.

Thai Day

A couple are stranded on the second floor of their house in Nan province on Tuesday as heavy flooding swept through the province.