Assistance given to flood victims in Thailand’s Southern region

BANGKOK, December 14 (TNA) - Heavy downpours continue to batter several southern provinces in Thailand on Sunday while army personnel and a private foundation rushed to offer assistance to flood victims. Several areas in Nakhon Si Thammarat province were inundated due to forest runoff floods resulted from continuous heavy rain from late Saturday. A bridge in Nopphitam district was destroyed due to strong forest runoff floods, forcing several families to be unable to commute. The situation in Phipun district is also bad as flood measuring over 50 centimetres swept the district and nearby Phrommakhiri district. A villager is reported missing while fishing in a canal. Tourists had to cancel their hotel rooms after waves measuring over two metres attacked a coastal district of Khanom. Heavy rain was also reported in Phatthalung province early Sunday, flooding several roads in the provincial seat and in another district. Shops were forced to close after seawater and sand, carried by the high waves, swept inside them. Thailand’s Army chief Gen. Udomdej Sitabutr has ordered every army unit in the South to closely monitor the current flooding situation and to also provide assistance to flood victims. (TNA)