WEATHER
Apinya Wipatayotin & MANIT SANUBBOON
The central and the eastern parts of Thailand can expect continuing heavy rain due to the arrival of low pressure zones, the Department of Meteorology said yesterday.
It has warned people living in Tak, Sukhothai, Chanthaburi, Chumpon and Phuket to stay alert for flash floods and landslides. The bad weather is expected to pass in a few days.
Meanwhile, 60-70% of Bangkok is likely to receive heavy rain until next week.
In Surat Thani, flooding has abated in Wipawadi sub-district and Khiri Ratthanikhom district, where nearly 1,000 relief kits have been handed out to flood victims since the province was hit by a deluge on Monday.
Surat Thani governor Vinai Buapradit said tourist attractions in six national parks would be closed for safety reasons if the flooding worsened. In Prachin Buri, an emergency evacuation drill was carried out in Na Di district to prepare people for possible landslides caused by rain.
In Phangnga, more than 1,200 families in Muang municipality of Takua Pa district were hit by run-off from a nearby mountain on Tuesday, when eight districts were warned about possible flooding.
Meanwhile, as part of a long-term plan, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is mapping areas at risk of possible landslides and flash floods in 51 provinces nationwide. Permanent secretary Saksit Tridech said maps for 22 at-risk provinces are finished. The others will be completed by 2011.
"We want help from people in the risk areas. We need them to stay prepared. We have trained more than 8,000 volunteers from 22 provinces in disaster preparation," said Mr Saksit.
High-risk provinces include Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Nan, Tak, Uttaradit, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Chanthaburi, Trang, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Chumphon. Landslides and flash floods occurred in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Phipun district in 1988, claiming more than 230 lives.
"Nationwide, over 5,000 villages are at risk of landslides. Of course, we can't move all of them to new places but we can train people in how to save their lives in a disaster," Mr Saksit said.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Next
