Rain to disrupt holiday weekend

Storms nationwide put travel plans in jeopardy

Rain is expected to hit all regions of the country until Tuesday, soaking holidaymakers and threatening people nationwide with flash floods triggered by overflows from reservoirs and rivers.

Weather prospects for the four-day holiday weekend, which started yesterday, look unfavourable especially for those who had planned trips as officials warned a new round of rainfall between today and July 31. This means people are likely to wake up for work on Tuesday facing wet conditions.

Residents in flood-hit provinces are especially worried as the forecast threatens to disrupt their travel plans. Moreover, there are fears of a “burst of water” from dangerously filled reservoirs in some of the Northeastern provinces.

The latest warning, raised yesterday by Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Chayaphon Thitisak, has alerted people to the combined effect of low pressure covering the Gulf of Tonkin in northern Vietnam and the stronger southwest monsoon in the Andaman Sea.

The low pressure will bring rain and heavy downpours to northern and northeastern Thailand while the seasonal monsoon will whip the rest of the country, with rough seas and four-metrehigh waves in the South, Mr Chayaphon said.

Nakhon Phanom was among the provinces which felt the impact yesterday as the weather dumped rain in its municipality areas in what local villagers described as a “leaky sky”.

Many streets in downtown areas were flooded, with rainwater inundating shops and a fresh market. The water forced sellers to remove their wares upstairs while some managed to keep their business open, but had to sell goods in flooded premises.

Many Nakhon Phanom residents opted to stay home for the weekend.

Officials said yesterday they have tried to pump water from flooded areas, but drainage was being hampered by the rising water level of the Mekong River. Transport and the local economy in parts of Nakhon Phanom were also hit by downpours on July 16.

In Kalasin, provincial governor Kraison Kongchalat has set up an ad hoc centre to deal with likely overflow from Huai Pho, Huai Kaeng, Huai Fa and Upper Lam Phayang reservoirs whose “storage exceed beyond capacity”.

Vast tracts of farmland will be most at risk if the worst fears are realised, he warned.

The situation in Sakon Nakhon municipality was also a concern as a two-day downpour drenched many communities, raising floodwater levels to almost one metre in some locations.

Despite recent developments, Mr Chayaphon has announced 19 of 20 affected provinces, except Khanchanaburi’s Sangkhla Buri district, has started to see water levels recede.

More than 11,000 people have fallen victim to severe floods so far.

Meanwhile, two German tourists were saved from a sinking sailboat as they tried to make their way from a resort on Samui island to the Nakhon Sri Thammarat coast, police said.

Rescuers and marine police were called to a location, about two nautical miles from the shore. They were able to rescue the tourists who were hanging onto the capsized boat.