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Floods halt air, rail services
Some areas under 2m of water, Yala dries out

Other parts of the South were hit as well, prompting hospital evacuations, halting airline services and forcing train passengers to continue their journeys by bus. But despite some provinces struggling with rising floodwater, levels were receding in the deep South.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, runoff from Luang and Nun mountains, triggered by steady rain over the past four days, caused unprecedented massive flooding, putting several main roads and residential communities under deep water.

The floodwater in some communities, such as Bo Sap and Ban Tok, ran as high as two metres, forcing locals to resort to using boats to get around.

Authorities were mobilised to assist flood victims and evacuate those who wanted to move to safety.

Bad weather forced the provincial airport authority to suspend all flights, stranding several hundred passengers.

Rail passengers travelling north were advised to board trains at Thung Song station because tracks between Nakhon Si Thammarat station to Thung Song station were submerged.

Those travelling south were asked to disembark at Thung Song station and take buses provided by the rail agency to their destinations.

The floods battered six districts, three of which _ Nop Phi Tham, Tha Sala and Sichon _ have been declared disaster areas. In Tha Sala district, flash flooding breached an earth dyke and hit Tha Sala Hospital. The entire ground floor was inundated, forcing the hospital to suspend all medical services for outpatients except emergency cases.

Twenty patients were moved to Maharaj Hospital, 45 to higher floors and 35 others sent home.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said flash flooding and runoff has hit nine out of the 14 southern provinces with almost 60 districts inundated.

In Chumphon, Lang Suan district was the latest casualty after four districts _ Phato, Lamae, Thung Tako and Sawi _ were inundated earlier.

Run-off flooded Lang Suan Hospital and forced the evacuation of two critically ill patients to Surat Thani.

Hours of steady rainfall yesterday morning flooded both inbound and outbound lanes of a stretch of Asian Highway 41.

The floodwater was 50cm high, making the stretch impassible to all vehicles.

In Phatthalung, several municipal areas were left covered in high levels of floodwater following heavy rainfall.

Phatthalung Hospital was forced to relocate patients and equipment to higher floors and reinforce a dyke to keep the floodwater out.

However, the floods subsided in several provinces, providing respite for residents and businesses.

Yesterday, Yala was improving and authorities expected the situation to return to normal in a couple of days.

Earlier, floods ravaged six Yala districts affecting almost 52,000 people.

It also claimed the life of nine-year-old Sareeta Sa-u, who drowned.

Governor of Narathiwat province Apinant Suethanuwong said yesterday authorities were inspecting damage in 11 flood-hit districts to ask the central government for help with rehabilitation and repairs. He said the damage assessment should be completed within a week and urged residents to be prepared for future flooding.

Authorities yesterday handed out flood relief supplies from Their Majesties the King and Queen to seven flood-hit residents in Narathiwat's Rueso district.

The victims' houses were swept away in runoff.

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South reels under floods



The flood situation in nine southern provinces remains critical, with roads closed and train services halted due to high-level inundation and many villages engulfed in mudslides.

Another 84 villages, all in Ranong, are at risk of mudslides, according to the latest warning released yesterday. Twenty-one of them are located in high-risk areas in Muang, Kapoe, La-un, Suk Samran and Kra Buri districts.

The entire Lang Suan district in Chumphon has been isolated after a flash flood surrounded it last night, submerging all roads connecting it with the outside world. Many thousands of residents have been complaining about shortages of food and drinking water. A large portion of neighbouring Phato district is facing a similar situation, after abrupt forest floods cut it off from other areas.

A large number of homes in low-lying areas around a market have been flooded, with residents moving up to the second floor. Local radio announcements reported many phone calls asking for help and urgent supplies of food.

Route 4 and Route 41 sections in Lang Suan district have been submerged, prompting police to divert traffic to shortcuts and impose reversible lanes, creating heavy traffic congestion, as a huge number of holidaymakers return to Bangkok as the four-day New Year holiday break ends today.

Citing a weather forecast, provincial governor Phinij Charoenphanich said more heavy rain was likely for another day or two while urging residents living near the base of hills to brace for landslides and trawlers not to go offshore because of high seas.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, a long crack on a mountain in Ron Phibun has caused panic to local residents with fears of falling rocks while all schools have closed until next Monday due to heavy flooding. An Air Asia flight braved a thunderstorm to land at a local airport with a load of frightened passengers. Nok Air and Orient Thai airways have called on prospective passengers to monitor weather reports and flight schedules on a constant basis.

A situation update from Nop Phitam district has not been available as power poles were felled by strong currents and most areas in the district have poor mobile phone signals. The district has been regarded as "completely isolated" and has seen many incidents of mudslides, said district chief Preecha Khumwong.

Ten local and long-distance trains running from and to Bangkok have halted service, said railway chief official Salaidej Saengphayak. Passengers are being transported to destinations on chartered buses while they can refund tickets for suspended trains at full price, he added.

Shelters have been set up at schools for flood evacuees from many areas in Muang municipality, where an estimated several thousand homes are under floodwater. The district’s wholesale farm product market - the largest in the South - has also been submerged, resulting in damage to a large number of products, prompting vendors to sell at low prices.

Tha Sala hospital, which was heavily inundated in the extreme flooding of last April, has evacuated 50 patients to other hospitals while medical equipment and supplies are still sufficient but at the ready to be moved up in case floodwater levels rise, said hospital director Kitti Rattanasombat.

A nine-year-old girl drowned yesterday in Yala’s Muang district, where 51,189 people from 15,300 families had been affected and 1,645 others evacuated, and 4,640 rai of farmland and 40 fish farms submerged or damaged. There has not been official confirmation whether the girl’s death was the first in the current South floods.

Their Majesties the King and Queen have provided relief supplies and other assistance, through local authorities, to owners of seven homes in Narathiwat’s Rue Soh district which had been destroyed completely by forest flooding.

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