CHUMPHON -- Thung Tako and Lang Suan districts have been hit by floods following a heavy rainstorm that also sank a fishing boat in the sea off Chumphon, leaving seven crew missing.
According to local media, from about 10pm on Tuesday a flash flood inundated Highway 41 between kilometre markers 47 and 48 in front of Thung Tako police station in Thung Tako district.
That section of the highway was 30-40 centimetres under water and not passable to small vehicles.
On Wednesday morning the water level receded to about 10cm. The highway was passable, but at a slow pace.
In Lang Suan district, water flowed into Lang Suan Hospital, which was heavily flooded on Jan 5-7, to flood an old out-patient building. About 2.30am on Wednesday, the water level began to rise rapidly, prompting hospital staff to hurriedly move medical equipment to higher floors.
Narong Ponla-iad, the Chumphon governor, instructed Lang Suan district chief Kittipop Roddon to quickly pump water out of the hospital.
About the same time, the governor was reported that a fishing boat, the Phet Sinsuwan, with 10 people on board was caught in the storm and sank about 20km east of tambon Pak Nam Chumphon.
Three Myanmar crewmen were later rescued by other fishing boats. However, Sunthorn Hoonthong, 54, the Thai skipper, Withoon Wanpornmongkol, 69, a Thai engineer, and five Myanmar crewmen were still missing. A search was still underway.
About 8.28am on Wednesday, a car skidded off a curve and plunged into the Lang Suan River while it was heading from tambon Pak Nam Lang Suan to Lang Suan market. A rescue team and marine police launched a search shortly after that but both the vehicle and the driver, who was identified as Dea Phumwiset, 55, had not been found.
Chatchai Promlert, director-general of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said heavy rain that started from Jan 1 had caused heavy flooding in 12 provinces, affecting 1.6 million people of 531,911 households and damaging 20 government installations, 1,172 roads and 191 bridges. Forty-four people were reported killed.
The flooding situation had eased in Yala, Ranong, Narathiwat, Pattani, Krabi and Chumphon. Parts of six other provinces - Phatthalung, Songkhla, Trang, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Prachuap Khiri Khan - were still flooded.