A flooded street following heavy rains in Thailand's southern city of Narathiwat on March 29, 2011. Serious floods in the south of Thailand have killed three people and affected tens of thousands more, causing about 10 million USD of damage, officials said. -- PHOTO: AFP
THAILAND - SERIOUS flooding in Thailand's south has left at least nine people dead, authorities said on Tuesday, as the country was struck by unseasonably cold weather.
Almost one million people have been affected by the heavy downpours across the southern region, according to a statement from the department of disaster prevention and mitigation.
Since the rains began six days ago, six people have died in Nakhon Si Thammarat - the hardest hit province - and one in Phatthalung, the statement said. Flood waters are now wreaking havoc in the provinces of Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Trang, Krabi and Phatthalung.
Services have been stalled at Nakhon Si Thammarat and Samui airports. Thousands of passengers were stranded on Koh Samui in Surat Thani province on Monday, while Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport has been closed since Sunday.
Tourists on the island of Samui had completely lost access to the mainland as of press time because ferry services were also suspended.
PM's Office Minister Satit Wongnongtaey, who chairs a committee on flood-relief operations, on Monday told inhabitants and authorities in Phang Nga and Phuket provinces also to brace for possible flooding, with heavy downpours expected to continue in the south until Wednesday. -- THE NATION/ANN, AFP
0 Comments:
Post a Comment