Flooding in Thai South remains critical

NARATHIWAT, THAILAND, December 19 (TNA) - As people in the Thai North and Northeast are facing a seasonal cold spell, those in several areas in the Thai South are facing a critical flooding, which has killed at least three more victims so far and forced some 80 schools to remain closed for an indefinite period, while several farmlands have been damaged. In the southernmost Narathiwat Province, heavy floods remained in all 13 districts on Friday, prompting provincial authorities to have declared them flood-hit disaster zones so that state budgets would be disbursed to urgently assist local flood victims. Flood levels in Narathiwat's five districts, including Muang District, kept rising, while several roads remained impassable for vehicles and about 80 schools were closed for the safety of students and teachers. Official units have, thus, dispatched flat-bottomed boats to assist flood-affected locals, as over two-metre-high floodwater has hit at least eight communities living near the banks of Sungai Kolok River. In nearby Pattani Province, over 500 local households near Pattani River banks had to move their valuable belongings to higher ground due to overflowing water from the river overnight. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department's office in the southern Songkhla Province has issued a fresh warning that storms are still covering over areas along the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, which should bring heavy downpours to coastal provinces with high waves in the sea. The regional weather office advised people living near the shores to remain alert and trawlers to stay ashore from December 19-21. (TNA)