Mudslide claims eight lives
MONSOON RAINS CAUSE HAVOC
>> A mudslide caused by continual rain in mountainous areas claimed eight lives and destroyed homes in Bo Klue district in Nan province.
The victims were all family members living in four homes that were decimated by torrents of mud sweeping down the mountain about 7am yesterday.
Nan province governor Paisarn Wimolrat declared Ban Huay Khab, a village tucked in a valley in Bo Klue district, as a disaster zone and ordered 100 villagers to be evacuated.
The mudslide was the result of heavy rain for over a week. Thirty-three homes in the village remained safe yet roads and farms are strewn by rocks, tree branches and a sea of mud.
In northern Mae Hong Son’s Khun Yuam district, a section of Khun YuamMae Chaem Road, which is a main transport route connecting Mae Hong Song and Chiang Mai, became impassible due to a landslide by one side of the road yesterday morning.
At the southern region, the monsoon has whipped up waves as high as four metres in some areas of the Andaman Sea, causing a series of sea accidents over the past few weeks.
In the latest case, a rescue team was trying to locate Supphachok Nua-on, 33, a resident and fisherman of tambon Laem Sak in Ao Luk district in Krabi province, and his son, Chirasak Nua-on, 6.
Both were reported missing at sea since late Friday night.
Chaiwut Buathong, chief of the Ao Luk district office said both were on a boat to collect fishing gear and did not return. The rescue mission would press on, he said.
The flood situation in the northeast has not improved after the region has been hit by low-pressure ridges from the Gulf of Tonkin for almost a week.
The situation i n Kalasin worsened yesterday.
Runoff from Phuphan mountain range hit Khao Wong and Na Khu districts, causing flooding as high as one metre. Roads have been cut off by floods and more than 1,000 rai of farmland is underwater.
In the west, flood victims in Kanchanaburi’s Sangkhla Buri district were still struggling. Rescue officials are worried about diarrhea and foot infections among flood victims in Ban Laiwo and Ban Ko Doeng.
Health concerns have arisen due to a lack of clean water and good sanitation. Road obstructions and debris from runoff have made it hard for rescue teams to access villages bordering Myanmar.
The areas have been flooded since July 20. Pakon Kanwali, chief of the Sangkhla Buri district office, said about 300 people in 88 homes were affected.
The eastern region was not spared either. Bo Rai district in Trat province was hit by flash flooding caused by runoff from Ban That range yesterday morning.
Flood levels in some areas rose up to 1.2m, the worst in a decade, according to Nitat Sunanta, a victim.
The Meteorological Department warned in a weather alert issued yesterday that extreme weather conditions were expected in most parts of the country until Tuesday.