Floods continue in southern Thai provinces

SOUTHERN THAILAND, January 4 (TNA) - Floods remain in some southern Thai provinces, forcing several schools to have closed beyond New Year holidays. In Nakhon Si Thammarat, forest run-offs have posed a flood threat in the Nakhon Si Thammarat Municipality and canal-side communities have been warned to be on alert for possible flooding, while water pumps have been installed in preparation for any inundation and water jet propulsion boats have been dispatched to speed up diverting water along main canals. In Phatthalung, heavy downpours overnight have triggered flooding in 11 districts, with floodwater being as high as one meter in some areas, affecting about 10,000 local households that have faced three rounds of floods recently, their worst flooding plight in 10 years, as some hardest-hit areas in the provincial seat are even under two meters of water. In Srinakarin District alone, some roads are impassable and all schools in flooded areas have been closed, prompting soldiers, border patrol police and rescue workers to have continually provided assistance to flood victims. In the southernmost Narathiwat Province, army vehicles have reached flooded areas to cook food for about 1,000 flood victims in Rueso District, where many villages have been submerged for more than two weeks, while local authorities have offered flat-bottom boats to villagers for travelling. (TNA)