Floods force evacuations in Narathiwat

As many as 345 residents have already been sent to evacuation centres as floodwater levels rise in their hometowns. Some 20,000 others have been affected by the inundation.
The raging floodwaters have left at least 13 local roads impassable, and two dykes and two bridges have been damaged.
A main road between Lee Yae and Ba Khud villages has been severed, with floodwaters already several metres deep at press time. At least five schools in Narathiwat have suspended classes in the face of the serious floods. The flooding has also ravaged 7,474 rai of farmland and 37 fish farms.
A team from the Border Patrol Police division reached several local villages yesterday to deliver relief-item bags granted by Their Majesties.
The Royal Thai Army also dispatched a team to give food to 15 houses marooned by floodwaters.
“I am glad the rangers have come in. Otherwise, I would have been starving,” 72-year-old Mamu Aela said yesterday. He has physical disabilities. Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office Area 12 director Thira Santimethee said the flooding was caused by continued cloudbursts. His office has jurisdiction over several provinces including Narathiwat.
Heavy rain has continued in all 13 districts of the province.
In the nearby province of Yala, several schools have shut down after flooding submerged many local roads.
“We will have to watch out for landslide risks too,” Yala Governor Dejrat Simsiri said.
He said officials were now surveying flood damage in a bid to rapidly deliver assistance and compensation to affected people.
In Nakhon Si Thammarat, overflowing and flooding have hit 110 villages during the past few days. The province’s deputy governor, Thitawat Chaowalit, said officials were now working to ensure the situation returned to normal very soon.
In a related development, flooding in the southern province of Phatthalung has eased after rain hit some areas. Livestock officials were handing out dried grass to farmers in the province to help them cope with the flooding.
“We have prepared medicine and medical supplies for the livestock too,” Phatthalung livestock chief Pairoj Intarasee said.