Over 1,000 homes hit by floods in Loei
The government is speeding up the provision of urgent assistance to more than 1,000 households in Loei which were affected by flash floods in the wake of Tropical Storm Sinlaku.
Deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered authorities to provide urgent help to over 1,000 households in Muang, Chiang Khan and Pak Chom districts, which were worst hit by the floods.
She said the prime minister has also asked authorities to promptly evacuate flood victims to safer ground and speed up property damage surveys.
The floods were caused by the heavy rain brought on by Sinlaku, which moved from Vietnam towards Laos and Thailand on Saturday evening — destroying homes and damaging roads as it dumped rain across Loei’s 14 districts.
As of press time yesterday, there were no casualties reported.
Large parts of Muang, Chiang Khan and Pak Chom districts were flooded, cutting off power as well as road access to emergency supplies, including clean water.
In Muang district alone, more than 400 houses were submerged — with some more than 70 centimetres underwater.
Deputy Interior Minister Niphon Bunyamanee said he has ordered the governor of Loei to provide shelter for victims and evacuate those who are still trapped in their flooded houses as quickly as possible.
Charoon Panich, chairman of Nam Suai’s tambon administrative organisation in Muang district, said he has sent out his officials to assist in the evacuation effort.
Their search mission was interrupted by a two-hour blackout after a power pole went down following two hours of intense rain on Saturday night, he said.
Separately, director-general of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, Chayapol Thitisak, said that authorities across 67 provinces have been told to prepare for more rain and flash flood as the Sinlaku makes its way across the country.
Mr Chayapol said the department will deploy manpower and rescue equipment to affected areas as needed.
Meanwhile in Ranong, more than 30 houses were damaged by strong winds during a thunderstorm over the weekend.
Banlue Saetan, mayor of Pak Nam municipality in Ranong’s Muang district, said the houses’ roofs were blown off, sending residents scrambling to save themselves.
According to the Thai Meteorological Department’s weather forecast yesterday, more heavy rain is expected across all regions until Wednesday, as Sinlaku makes its way across the region.
The storm made landfall in Vietnam yesterday.
As of 10am yesterday, it was centred above Thanh Hoa, Vietnam, with maximum sustained winds at around 65 km per hour.
The storm was moving in a westnorthwesterly direction at about 15 km/h, and it is expected to be downgraded to a tropical depression over Laos, before becoming a low-pressure cell.
The storm — in conjunction with a strong monsoon trough across the North and the upper Northeast and the southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand — is likely to cause heavy to very heavy rain all across the country, the department said.