Phuket flooded by overnight downpours

PHUKET, Thailand, June 11 (TNA) - Heavy downpours overnight have caused the second round of flooding in Patong area of Phuket province along the southern Thai Andaman coast, prompting local officials to speed up drainage and to relieve impacts of some impassable road sections and a landslide. Monday's flooding in Patong area recured on Tuesday morning due to the overnight heavy rain, inundating many roads in Patong of Kathu district, including an intersection in front of Patong Hospital and roads in front of the Kathu police station and the Ban San market, where floodwater was 30-60 centimeters, especially on Phang Muang Sai Ko Road, which was impassable to small vehicles. Kathu district chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol told reporters that workers were accelerating flood drainage, acknowledging that the flooding partly resulted from blocked waterways from incomplete construction work, and that workers were also clearing areas blocked by a landslide from the Patong mountain. (TNA)