Parts of Surat Thani now a disaster zone as 3 die in floods
NINE districts of heavily flooded Surat Thani province have been declared a disaster zone with Koh Samui and Koh Phangan being among them as three people died amid ongoing torrential rain, TV Channel 7 said today (Dec. 16).
Acting Governor Mr. Thiratum Suphawibulphon called an urgent meeting of agencies battling the floods as torrential rain that started on Saturday (Dec. 14) continues today. This has led to canals overflowing and flooding farmlands, roads and houses in nine districts.
Struggling with the floods in these nine districts, namely Surat Thani City, Kanchanadit, Don Sak, Tha Chana, Tha Chang, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Ban Na San, and Chaiya, are residents in 50 subdistricts and 341 villages. A total of 14,319 households with altogether 28,809 people were affected.
While no one was injured, three people died with two being from Myanmar and one Thai.
As of 7 a.m. this morning the flood situation in the nine districts are as follows:
– Surat Thani City: Continuous rain but flooding has decreased;
– Kanchanadit district: Heavy rain still lashing in this area with canals overflowing and floodwater rising;
– Don Sak district: Continuous heavy rain with canals overflowing and floodwater rising non-stop;
– Tha Chana district: Continuous heavy rain with canals overflowing and floodwater rising steadily;
– Tha Chang district: Continuous heavy rain with canals overflowing and floodwater rising ceaselessly;
– Koh Samui district: Lighter rain and flooding has decreased, but some roads and low-lying areas are still flooded;
– Koh Phangan district: Lighter rain and flooding has decreased;
– Ban Na San district: Heavy rain continues with rivers overflowing and triggering flash floods;
– Chaiya district: Heavy rain continues with rivers overflowing and floodwater rising.
Moreover forest runoffs have led to Ban Na San, Wiang Sa, Phunphin and Vibhavadi districts being inundated while landslides have occurred in Surat Thani City.
Naewna, Front Page photo: Amarin TV
This report originally appeared at www.thainewsroom.com
Comments
