Flashermac Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Bangkok Post 29 Mar 2011 Thailand is expected to experience more unseasonal weather patterns this week causing more floods, rough seas, storms and cold temperatures, meteorology officials warn. A further drop in temperatures in most parts of the country and continued heavy rainstorms over the southern region during the next few days have been forecast. Heavy downpours and turbulent seas have caused flash floods in at least six southern provinces, disrupting land, sea and air travel and causing devastating damage to farmland and property in many areas. [color:red]Local and foreign high-season tourists were caught off-guard by heavy rainstorms while celebrating their summer holidays in popular southern tourist provinces.[/color] T[color:red]housands of tourists were stranded on Koh Samui after bad weather forced the closure of the island's only airport and the suspension of the ferry service to and from the mainland yesterday.[/color] Airline personnel were unable to provide exact departure periods for those stranded as bad weather continued into the night. [color:red]Roads in the densely populated tourist areas of Chaweng and the fishermen's village of Bophut are submerged under nearly a metre of flood water.[/color] Compounding problems for international travellers are fully booked flights from Koh Samui because it is still the busy tourist season on the island. Bangkok Airways personnel said they will give priority to passengers with international connections if weather conditions improve tomorrow. Several hundred more tourists were also reportedly stranded on islands at Similan National Marine Park in the Andaman Sea because of the turbulent weather. Waves in the Gulf of Thailand and on the western coast were reported to be as high as 5m, forcing fishermen and tour boat operators to temporarily suspend their services. At least eight people have died - seven in Nakhon Si Thammarat and one in Phatthalung - while more than 268,000 households have been affected by severe floods covering Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Trang, Surat Thani, Chumphon and Songkhla. But in other parts of the country, 47 provinces, particularly in the north and northeastern regions, have been declared as drought-affected areas with more than seven million people affected. Weather officials said yesterday they could not say why the high pressure wedge has continued to prevail from China. "If the influence of the high pressure remains strong, we will see more and more rain in the South," Weather Prediction Division chief Charoon Laohalertchai said. He said the unusually heavy rainfall in the southern provinces was likely to be a result of the La Nina phenomenon. [color:red]The amount of rainfall in Nakhon Si Thammarat during the past week was higher than the province's year-long average of 200mm. In some places of the province, the amount of rain was more than 600mm in five days, which is higher than the average annual rainfall in the central region.[/color] "We expect to see a declining amount of rain by the end of this month, together with a declining influence of La Nina by the middle of this year," Mr Charoon said. However, he said the increasing temperature in the Andaman Sea was an important factor that might lead to more rainstorms in May and June over Phuket and other provinces along the west coast. [color:red]The Meteorological Department predicted yesterday the temperature in north, northern, eastern and central provinces, including Bangkok and nearby cities would decrease by three to five degrees Celsius from today.[/color] :content: Residents living in several provinces in the lower Northeast have experienced a sharp drop in temperatures during this summer season. In Nakhon Ratchasima, a cold spell gripped the province yesterday with Pak Chong district experiencing the lowest temperature at 16C. The temperature dropped to 12C at Phu Rua district in Loei and 5.5C at the top of Phu Rua national park. In the North, cold spells have also gripped the region, with the temperature on Doi Inthanon, the country's highest peak, measured at 7.8C yesterday. In lowland areas, average temperatures were between 18C to 23C. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Updates on Samui can be found here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozpharlap Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 Updates on Samui can be found here 1 million stranded as floods rage through South; 9 killed, with Nakhon Si Thammarat hit the hardest; Heavy rain likely to continue for next few days Nearly a million residents living in flood-hit areas in the South have been left stranded with no access to land and air transport, even as the number of deaths increased to nine, with the grim prospect of heavy rains pounding many of the areas for the next few days. A storm yesterday aggravated difficulties for the hardest-hit province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, damaging 250 homes in coastal areas and the Talum Phuk peninsula. The raging winds felled a number of power poles, causing blackouts in many areas. Local residents of the peninsula complained about the total lack of assistance from authorities, and shortages of food and electricity. Fishermen are relying entirely on high-interest loans from illegal lenders to pay for their regular expenses while they are unable to go out fishing. In Lan Saka district, a large number of people living at the foot of small hills have been evacuated following mudslides, with the possibility of more coming. A large pile of debris has covered farmlands and damaged them. The situation in the whole region, including the other six hard-hit provinces - Surat Thani, Chumphon, Phang Nga, Ranong, Trang and Phatthalung - will likely return to normal next week if the heavy rains cease. All train services down from Nakhon Si Thammarat have been suspended due to high flooding of the railway tracks. Villagers living in the foothills of nine provinces have been advised to watch out for mudslides, which have occurred in nine districts in four provinces. There are 1,628 locations facing the risk of mudslides in 14 southern provinces, with a total of 5,593 locations in 51 provinces across the country. In tambon Pak Phoon in Muang district, desperate villagers seeking to be evacuated made a false appeal for help. When rescuers arrived at the scene, they rejected their request for evacuation citing priority for an incident in which a brick oven had collapsed. A villager then confessed to raising a false alarm to get the attention of rescuers. Four Navy vessels, including an amphibious landing craft, are on their way to the South from the Sattahip Naval Base, with on-board helicopters hoping to pick up a large number of tourists stranded on many tourist islands. A total of 103 tourists stranded on tourist islands off Phang Nga coast on Andaman Sea side have been rescued by two local Navy vessels. In Phi Poon district, two reservoirs are brimming and releasing water on an hourly basis to prevent cracks or a collapse. The Kathoon and Khlong Din Daeng cannot accommodate any more water, said district chief Trairat Chaiyarat. In the latest fatality reported in Phatthalung, a woman drowned when her car plunged into two-metre roadside floodwaters, raising the number of dead to nine, according to unofficial news reports. The latest official update on the disaster yesterday reported seven deaths, with 979,665 people living in 310,406 affected households. The flood areas cover 63 districts in seven southern provinces. Airports in Nakhon Si Thammarat have been closed because the runways and taxiways have been flooded while the one in Samui Island remains closed as of press time last night. Ekkarat Sukpetch, a reporter at The Nation, said rain poured down day and night, forcing Bangkok Airways to cancel most of its flights to and from Samui Airport. "Floodwater is also rising to a point that electricity had to be cut off on Lamai Beach," she said. She added that tap water was not available on the beach as electrical pumps stopped working when the electricity went off on Monday night. "I've heard that someone was electrocuted. So, power has been turned off," Ekkarat said. Without any access to electricity and tap water on Lamai Beach, she moved to Chaweng Beach instead. Ekkarat had gone to cover the Samui International Body Painting Competition, which took place during the weekend. She was scheduled to fly back to Bangkok on Monday but the weather conditions made it impossible. Ekkarat showed up again at Samui Airport at 4am yesterday, awaiting a Bangkok Airways flight. "But because there are just two flights, there are not enough seats to carry all the stranded passengers back," she said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 Hi, Limbo, how is the flood affecting you? Obviously you still have electricity and internet connectivity , but any other problems? Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Krabi mudslides kill 3 villagers At least 3 people have been killed and six others are reported missing as mudslides swept away villages and heightened the southern flooding crisis. The overall death toll has risen to at least 15. Mountain run-off and landslides hit villages in tambon Na Khao in Krabi's Khao Phanom district yesterday and washed away up to 50 homes, provincial governor Prasit Osathanont said. Hours after the landslides struck, rescue workers were still sifting through the mud in a desperate search for other victims. Earlier it was reported that as many as 200 villagers were missing, but Mr Prasit said rescue workers who struggled to reach the devastated villages had confirmed that so far only three bodies had been found. About 300-400 people lived in the areas hit by the landslides. News of the disaster came as 12 people were earlier confirmed dead in the heavy floods that have hit eight southern provinces. The eight provinces are Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Surat Thani, Trang, Chumphon, Songkhla, Krabi and Phangnga. Seven victims were confirmed dead in Nakhon Si Thammarat, four in Surat Thani and one in Phatthalung. In Samui, hundreds of stranded travellers scrambled for air tickets at Samui International airport, after two planes managed to take off for Bangkok. Meanwhile, the aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Narabuet and two smaller vessels, HTMS Sukhothai and Gor911, plucked stranded visitors from the islands of Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui. But it was in Krabi where the floods exacted their highest toll yesterday, as mudslides and mountain runoff descended on villages, washing away residents and their homes. The worst-hit areas were Moo 6 of Ban Huay Kaew, Moo 7 of Ban Ton Harn, and Moo 10 of Ban Khlong Haeng where some 40-50 houses were buried in mud. Supoj Chanakij, chief of Khao Phanom district, said Moo 7 was the worst hit. "It was the first village to be hit by runoff from Phanom Bencha mountain. The torrent was so fierce, it swept away houses," he said. Mr Supoj said the death toll could go higher. "It happened so fast. The villagers were caught off guard," he said. The bodies of the victims were moved to Khao Phanom temple while survivors were evacuated to temporary shelters set up at several temples. A villager who was identified only as Winai said run-off from the mountain started sweeping in on Tuesday morning. "When I was watching the flood, I heard a loud noise coming from the mountain and the water rushed down and swallowed whole houses. "I managed to flee with my mother and my wife. Our relatives were trapped and their houses covered with mud," he said. Santi Yuttanant, director of Khao Phanom Hospital, said 39 people had sought medical treatment. Seven were critical. He said villagers were traumatised by the disaster. "Two children told me their parents were swept away in front of their eyes," he said. Several areas were still inaccessible, with supplies of fresh water, food and electricity running low. Persistent rain and strong river currents dampened joint rescue efforts by the military, police and local administrations. The Department of Mineral Resources said landslides were still a potent threat. It warned of possible runoff and mudslides in all 14 southern provinces over the next two days. The national flood relief centre yesterday warned of possible landslides in three districts of Phangnga, three districts in Surat Thani and one district in Nakhon Si Thammarat. It said seven reservoirs in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Trang provinces had reported flooding. However, the centre said the inundation in the region was expected to ease in the next 5-7 days if there was no further rain. Other southern provinces were still suffering from severe flooding. Surat Thani has declared all 19 districts disaster areas with about 200,000 people evacuated. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday about one million people had been affected by the floods and added that he doesn't respect Farangs. Mother Nature is pissed off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pom Michael Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday about one million people had been affected by the floods [color:red]and added that he doesn't respect Farangs.[/color] Checking to see if anyone actually reads your posts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadaBing Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday about one million people had been affected by the floods [color:red]and added that he doesn't respect Farangs.[/color] Checking to see if anyone actually reads your posts? Mac's we read , it's yours that are questionable... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadaBing Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 now that i think about it , i was in Phattahlung last year visiting a ex-tilca dancer friend. She was also in Phuket when the tsunami hit there...back luck .. , hope she's ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Hi KS, Strangely enough I'm in Koh Lanta, just like during the November flooding. Things were hairy on Samui, my house did not have electricity for almost 56 hrs but we just stocked up on food before I left, so all is fine. Right now things are slowly getting better, gasoline, diesel and food is on the island again when it was just about to run out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted April 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday about one million people had been affected by the floods [color:red]and added that he doesn't respect Farangs.[/color] Checking to see if anyone actually reads your posts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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