Floods, run-offs hit several areas in Thai South

THAI SOUTH, November 22 (TNA) - Torrential downpours overnight have caused floods in several southern Thai areas, particularly those in Phattalung and Nakhon Si Thammarat Provinces, some of which were even hit by run-offs. In Phattalung, all 11 districts have been flooded, especially in Muang and Khuan Khanun with as high as nearly two-meter floodwater, while people in the Charad locality of Kong Ra District have evacuated due to forceful run-offs which have also flooded parts of Phetkasem Highway between Phatthalung and Trang Province, with floodwater measured about one meter in its some sections disrupting normal traffic in the affected zones. A section of the Asian Highway from Phatthalung to Nakhon Si Thammarat has also been submerged by more than one-meter floodwater. In Nakhon Si Thammarat, a run-off from the Luang mountain range has inundated the Nasan locality in Phra Phrom District, while five canals in the Nakhon Si Thammarat Municipality have overflown, forcing locals to hurriedly move their belongings to higher places and local schools to have been closed. Red flags have been placed by the local administrative organisation to warn the public to keep away from areas at risk. In Trang Province, a run-off from the Banthad mountain range has flooded more than 500 houses in Muang and Nayong Districts, isolating two villages and forcing two schools to have been closed, while over one square kilometers of paddy fields have been under water. In Pattani and Yala Provinces, Chinawat Prommanop, chief of water allocation at the Pattani Dam, told reporters that the Pattani Dam and the Bang Lang Dam in nearby Yala can continue receiving more rainwater, as both dams have earlier released water to the sea to cope with more downpours. (TNA)