Photo: Phuket Gazette
The floods are a result of heavy monsoon rainfall and thunderstorms in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea areas. The Meteorological Department has also reported that a strong monsoon trough which is prevailing over the Central Plains, East and Northeast will collide with a low pressure cell from the South China Sea, bringing heavy rains to all parts of Thailand until the end of the week.
Torrential rain has been constant in the south for around 3 or 4 days already, flooding streets and town centres. Outside the towns, many roads have been made impassable by mudslides and floods. This meant that the western coast of south Thailand suffered the most, especially the provinces of Phuket, Ranong, Nan, Phang Nga, Trang, Satun and Krabi. Six houses were damaged by mudslides in Nan province, with one person reported as missing.
All seven districts in Satun Province have been declared a disaster zone after they had been hit by flash floods. There have been reports that as many as 9,000 homes have been affected. The Thai military have been assisting in building flood defences and re-opening blocked roads.
Probably of concern to many visitors to Thailand is the torrential rain, mudslides and flooding in Phuket. San Jantharawong, chief of the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said:
“There has been heavy rain every day for days now. As the soil on hillsides soaks up more rain, the slopes might not be able to support the extra weight, leading to landslides,”
Sources: Thai News; Phuket Gazette; MCOT
