Flood crisis in Nan as storms hit North

RESIDENTS in the far North have been urged to leave their homes for safety and two people reported missing as floods hit Nan’s Muang and Pua districts, as well as Phayao, Phrae and Tak provinces yesterday.

Nan City mayor Surapol Thiensut said that at 1pm the Nan River rose to 7.78 metres – seven metres beyond the critical point. This was the same level seen during the 2011 flood, he said, and it was continuing to rise at 1.5cm per minute. 

Army, police and local officials helped residents living in low-lying areas to move to higher ground as floodwater swept over roads and threatened homes.

Surapol said 70 per cent of Nan city would be flooded, with some areas under up to 2.7 metres of water. He said floodwater could remain for two days and Nan Hospital was monitoring the situation in case it had to evacuate patients. 

Nan governor Suwat Phromsuwan warned Muang residents of the flood situation through his Facebook page and pointed to four safe locations, including the provincial stadium and Nakhon Nan Airport. In Pua, resident Prasit Wangsan, 40, went missing after he slipped into the Pua River. 

Chulalongkorn University’s Pha Sing Research and Technology Transfer Station offered shelter to about 500 residents.

In Phayao’s Pong district, the overflow from the Yom and Ngim rivers flooded riverside homes and farmland at about 4am. Villager Nopparat Khanthares, 39, of Tambon Na Prang, was reported missing in the deluge. 

Thanakorn Kiratisuthon, head of Phayao Agricultural Extension Office’s Farmers Promotion and Development Group, estimated the flood would affect 5,000 farmers, 35,000 rai of rice fields, 50,000 rai of maize plantations, and 5,000 rai of tapioca plantations.

Phrae governor Pichet Paiboonsiri called an urgent meeting of officials yesterday afternoon to brace for the flood and instructed at-risk residents to evacuate if the Yom River and connecting canals’ levels rose by 8 to 12 metres later in the evening. 

In Tak’s Mae Sot district, rising rivers were submerging roads and riverside homes. They also caused a four-metre-wide sinkhole in Tambon Mahawan.

Meanwhile, Pai in Mae Hong Son – hit by a flash flood on the weekend – was returning to normal. Ban Mae Yen village headwoman Jurairat Janphrommin said nearly 100 resorts in Tambon Mae He were affected by floods and officials and volunteers were cleaning up the area. Mae Hong Son Nawamin Vocational College sent machinists and students to repair damaged appliances and cars. 

Pai district chief Thanakrit Chanthajamrasilpa presented Bt22,000 in assistance money to 11 flood victims on Sunday following the instruction of provincial governor Pipat Ekpapan.

Bangkok and nearby areas were also hit by storms, with power lines brought down yesterday in Samut Prakan’s Ban Phli district.

The storm fell power poles that damaged many passing cars and motorcycles along the two-kilometrelong alley.