Floods Hit Southern Provinces

NARATHIWAT, Jan 8 (TNA) - Riverside communities in Narathiwat have been under two metres of floodwater due to continuous rain and run-off from a mountain range. Locals have been forced to travel by boat as roads become impassable. Flood situations in nine districts remain stable on Friday morning and the water levels have slight decreased. Run-off from the mountain range in Sukhirin district has flowed to Waeng, Sungai Kolok and Takbai districts and inundated houses along the Sungai Kolok River. An evacuation center in the Sungai Kolok municipality has accommodated 233 evacuees from 67 households. One more shelter was opened today for 38 persons to adhere to the public health measures for social distancing in the wake of Covid-19. In Yala province, several hundred houses along the Pattani River and Sai Buri River have been flooded. They moved their belongings and pets to higher ground. Two houses in Bunnang Sata district was swept away. The authorities set up temporarily shelters and provide food and drinking water to affected residents. In Songkhla, floods in Sabayoi and Natawee districts are stable after rain stopped. However, swollen water has overflowed its banks in some downstream areas in Thepa district. The local disaster prevention and mitigation office warns locals to beware of flood situation and children should refrain from swimming in floodwater. Songkhla will soon declare the disaster zones in Sabayoi and Natawee districts where 16,207 people in 67 villages have been affected by flood and 307 households needed to evacuate. (TNA)