Govt revs up flood aid in South
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Govt revs up flood aid in South

Over 240k homes hit by heavy downpours

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A road in Hat Yai city in the southern province of Songkhla is seen flooded after two major canals overflowed. The economic zone is also at risk of flooding as heavy downpours are expected to continue across many areas in the southern region until next Tuesday. (Photo: Aswin Phakkhawan)
A road in Hat Yai city in the southern province of Songkhla is seen flooded after two major canals overflowed. The economic zone is also at risk of flooding as heavy downpours are expected to continue across many areas in the southern region until next Tuesday. (Photo: Aswin Phakkhawan)

The government is stepping up efforts to help flood victims in several provinces in the South as more than 240,000 households were hit by severe flooding triggered by days of heavy rainfall.

Speaking after Friday's mobile cabinet meeting in Chiang Mai, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she instructed Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Deputy Defence Minister Gen Natthaphon Narkphanit to oversee flood relief operations.

The Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre was also ordered to coordinate with the government's flood relief operation centre to set up kitchens to evacuate flood victims, provide them with medical supplies, and prepare food for them.

According to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, some 240,007 households in 68 districts in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Satun, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, were hit by floods following downpours that are forecast to continue in many areas until Tuesday.

Four people were reported dead during the flooding.

Government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said that volunteers and foundations that joined in rescue and relief operations during the flooding that hit the North in September and October will also travel to the South to help victims there.

In Songkhla, all 16 districts of this southern border province have been declared disaster zones due to severe floods triggered by days of heavy rain, affecting more than 95,000 people.

Songkhla governor Chotnarin Kerdsom signed an order on Friday to declare the 16 districts disaster zones after heavy downpours continuously pounded the tourist province from Nov 22 to 28, inundating 671 villages. A total of 95,221 people from 48,947 households have been affected.

Na Thawee district was facing the worst flooding, affecting 13,873 households, followed by Hat Yai (6,640 affected households), Khlong Hoi Khong (6,547 households), Chana (4,646 households), Thepha (4,361 households), Sadao (3,901 households) and Muang (3,384 households).

The flood situation is expected to persist until Saturday.

Floodwater in many areas remained high on Friday. Some roads were cut off, worsening the situation for flood-affected residents. Officials raced against time to evacuate people to safer areas.

In Pattani, four hospitals have been temporarily closed because of rising floodwaters that have inundated their compounds, requiring the evacuation of patients to field hospitals.

Floodwaters continued to rise in many areas of this southern border province, affecting Nong Chik, Yaring, Thung Yang Daeng and Mae Lan hospitals.

Authorities on Friday announced the temporary closure of the four hospitals, which are located along the Pattani and Sai Buri rivers.

Dr Anurak Saraparb, chief of the Pattani public health office, said the temporary closures were due to flooding, and patients had already been moved to field hospitals.

Doctors, nurses and health personnel were dispatched to check on the evacuated patients, he said.

Heavy rain continued to batter many areas in Pattani, compounded by high sea tides on Thursday night, resulting in a critical flooding situation, especially in regions near the two major rivers.

In the Muang municipal area, the province's main economic zone, floodwaters rose by 10 centimetres on Friday compared to the previous day, leading to the closure of many shops for three consecutive days.

The State Railway of Thailand on Friday announced the cancellation of three special express trains and one rapid train serving Hat Yai and other southernmost stations as the downpours damaged the railway in the region.

Transport Co said on Friday all bus stations and many roads in the southernmost provinces are under water.

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