Floods sever overland routes to Thai south
BANGKOK: Overland routes to Thailand’s flood-hit south were severed yesterday after two bridges collapsed following days of torrential rain that has killed at least 25, including a five-year-old girl.
The heaviest January rains for three decades have lashed the country’s south for over a week, affecting 1.1 million people across 11 provinces.
The unseasonal downpours have also put a dampener on Thailand’s peak tourist period, prompting cancellations on popular resort islands including Samui and Phangan.
The main road heading down Thailand’s southern neck – Highway 4 – in Prachuab Kiri Khan province was closed yesterday morning.
“We stopped all vehicles from passing after two bridges collapsed on Highway 4,” a Highways Department spokesman said.
Trains south have also been stopped by the rising floodwaters, increasing demand on already stretched flights to and from the flood-ravaged region.
The death toll has crept up over recent days as floods have reached roof-top level in some areas.
A five-year-old girl in Prachuab province became the latest victim when a flash flood hit a van she was travelling in late Monday.
“Her family climbed to the roof of the van to avoid the water but she fell in with her mother,” relief worker Rawiroj Thammee said yesterday.
“The girl was swept away... villagers found her body 200m from the van this morning.”
January usually brings visitors flocking to the south’s islands and pristine beaches as monsoon rains abate and temperatures ease.
But the region has been battered by what junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha described as the heaviest January rainfall in 30 years.
Vast tracts of the south – which is also an agricultural hub for rubber, palm oil and fruit plantations – have been left under water while flash floods have caused deaths and widespread damage.
Television images have shown villagers wading through muddy water in remote flooded hamlets, with a few salvaged belongings held above their heads. – AFP