Phuket heavily flooded after torrential downpour
PARTS of the resort island of Phuket was heavily flooded last night after being lashed by continuous torrential rain, particularly Thalang district, the Thai-language daily Matichon reported today (Feb. 20).
Meanwhile the Thai Meteorological Department issued a warning this morning that a moderate to high pressure system is moving to the upper Northeast leading to thundershowers and strong wind during February 21-24, after which the temperature will drop by 2-4° Celsius.
This will first occur in upper Northeast with the remaining area of the Northeast, North, Central region including Bangkok to be impacted a day later.
The traffic turned into a nightmare in Phuket last night with massive tailbacks on Thepkasattri and Sri Sunthorn roads, where flooding on some stretches was 30-50 centimeters high. Making matters worse was that many cars broke down.
Traffic police and district officials closed the heavily flooded parts of these roads and also checked the drain covers to ensure there was no blockage, only opening these two roads fully after it stopped raining and the situation was back to normal.
This morning Mr Vorawut Songyut, mayor of Sri Sunthorn district, ordered officials to check all the drains in nearby areas to ensure that they are not blocked in preparing for more rainfall.
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Top and in-text: Badly flooded Thepkasattri and Sri Sunthorn roads in Phuket. Photos: Matichon
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