Noru kills 1, wreaks havoc upcountry

Residents check the strength of a raised walkway through their community around Wat Thewarat Kunchorn in Dusit district of Bangkok on Thursday as they race against time to beat the rising Chao Phraya River. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)
Residents check the strength of a raised walkway through their community around Wat Thewarat Kunchorn in Dusit district of Bangkok on Thursday as they race against time to beat the rising Chao Phraya River. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)

Tropical depression Noru, formerly a super typhoon, has left four northeastern provinces awash, with one person dead as it hit the upper section of Thailand on Thursday.

The storm has set off emergency alarms in 17 provinces in the North, Northeast and Central Plains, which have all braced for the risk of heavy flooding in the days to come.

From Wednesday night till Thursday morning, much of Amnat Charoen, Si Sa Ket, Yasothon and Ubon Ratchathani saw torrential rainfall and thunderstorms that led to floods.

Several main roads in these provinces were swamped, and strong winds knocked down trees in five districts across the four provinces.

In Si Sa Ket, one person was killed and two injured when a large tree toppled by a strong wind fell onto the pick-up they were travelling in.

As of 11am Thursday the depression was centred in Roi Et with a wind speed of 50 kilometres per hour. The storm was heading west and is expected to weaken further.

Despite the downgrade, the storm will continue bringing more rain to all parts of the country, especially the North and Northeast where strong winds are also forecast in the days ahead.

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Vocabulary

  • alarm: a loud noise or a signal that warns people of danger or of a problem - สัญญาณเตือนภัย
  • brace: to get ready for something unpleasant - เตรียม
  • depression: an area where the air pressure is low, often causing heavy rain - พายุดีเปรสชัน
  • downgrade: to reduce someone or something to a lower rank or position - ลดความสำคัญ
  • swamped: covered with a large amount of water - ท่วม, จมอยู่ในน้ำ
  • topple: to cause to fall - คว่ำลงมา
  • torrential: (of rain or moving water) extremely heavy - ซึ่งไหลเชี่ยว
  • weaken (verb): to make somebody/something less strong or powerful; to become less strong or powerful - ทำให้อ่อนลง, ทำให้อ่อนแอ
  • wreak havoc: to cause something bad to happen in a violent and often uncontrolled way - ทำให้เกิด ความเสียหายอย่างรุนแรง, ทำให้เกิดความหายนะ
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