Overnight rain triggers flood in Chiang Mai

CHIANG MAI, May 19 (TNA) – Overnight rainfall caused flooding and traffic snarl in the Chiang Mai provincial seat on Friday morning while some schools were forced to close. Many roads in the Chiang Mai city have been flooded after heavy rain triggered floodwater, flowing from Doi Suthep mountain. Floodwater is as high as 50 centimetres and parts of roads have been closed to traffic. A road outside Chiang Mai Airport has been also submerged. Many schools announced one-day closure. Chiang Mai Governor Pawin Chamniprasart inspected flooded roads as local officials from the Chiang Mai municipality and the Office of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation were working to facilitate motorists. Many underpasses are impassable due to high level of water. Local authorities warned people of possible flash flood as rain has continued. Meanwhile, in the northeastern province of Loei, Pramuan Lapchit ประมวล ลาภจิตต์ head of local disaster prevention and mitigation office said continuous rain caused flooding in the Loei municipality since early morning. The water in the Loei River overflowed its banks into low-lying communities and roads are under ankle-deep water. A three-kilometre section of road from Loei Vocational College to Loei Technical College is impassable and three nearby schools have been closed. The official said the floodwater in the Loei municipality came from Wangsaphung. However, flood has started to recede but the sky remains cloudy. (TNA)