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Residents evacuated as floods rise

By The Nation
Published on August 15, 2008

Some 500 villagers in Chiang Rai's Wiang Kaen district were evacuated from homes covered by 1.5metredeep floodwater, while water started to recede in many areas.

Tambon Muang Yai Administrative Organisation chief Rewat Shinakhai said that out of eight floodhit villages, Huai Leuk was the hardest hit with 140 families evacuated to local schools and temples on higher ground.
The village - whose 30 riverside homes were totally submerged - was marooned for two days but officials with flatbottom boats were able to provide food to them, he said.

As the water started to recede, things should be back to normal in two days provided there was no more rainfall, he added.

Rewat expressed concern about rumours that China had released water from dams upstream of the Mekhong River, saying that this would worsen the flooding situation in his area.

At Tambon Por, 110 homes and 1,500 rai of farmland were damaged by floods but the local administration had already allocated Bt100,000 to assist the victims.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Kowit Wattana yesterday inspected flooding in Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong districts and gave the victims 600 relief bags.

He said the government would soon discuss how to help the affected farmers and the building of barriers along the Mekhong River as a longterm flood solution.

Public Health permanent secretary Prat Boonyawongwirot said his office had sent 10,000 kits of first aid medicine to Chiang Rai and had reserved 100,000 more kits in central storage, ready to be sent to floodaffected areas if needed.

In the meantime, Nakhon Phanom governor Boonsanong Boonmee declared the province's 11 districts flood disaster zones, as 722 villages were flooded, 24,048 rai of farmland was damaged and three local schools were closed for students' safety.

The Mekhong River there was measured at a critical 12.6 metres, sending overflows to combine with forest floods to hit the communities, he said. A Phon Sawan district woman, Sai Pakdee, 40, was swept away in floodwater while going fishing with her husband. She was later found dead, he added.

In Nong Khai, Mekhong River overflows submerged 700 homes in Muang district and made several roads impassable for small vehicles. In Mukdahan's Muang district, vendors at the Indo Chin Market moved their goods to higher ground as the river rose two centimetres per hour, only seven centimetres from the critical 12.5metre level.

In Phitsanulok's Wang Thong district, the Wang Thong River started to overflow following days of heavy rain, prompting riverside locals to pack belongings and move to higher ground. The provincial irrigation authority made haste to release water through canals in preparation for floodwater from upstream Phrae and Sukhothai provinces.

 
 

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