MORE than 100 schools in the South are remaining closed in the wake of serious flooding including in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, where officials at 88 state schools have said they will be closed until today.
“Most of these schools are in the province’s educational service area 1,” Nakhon Si Thammarat Governor Charoen Tipayapongtada said yesterday.All 23 districts in the province had been inundated, disrupting the lives of more than 261,000 people, he said. The floods were also blamed for five deaths in the province, while at least 12 people have been killed in the south.
In the worst-hit spots, floodwaters were more than two metres deep as of press time. Officials were using boats to send relief to affected people, many of whom are living on the second floor of flooded homes.
Meanwhile, railway officials have been arranging buses for train passengers who have been forced to switch their mode of transport because flooding damaged train lines.
Flooding in Nakhon Si Thammarat proved so serious that Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda, ministry permanent secretary Grisada Boonrach and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Chatchai Promlert headed to the province to facilitate relief and rescue operations.
In Trang province, hundreds of people in Muang Trang and Kantang districts fled to safety on Monday night after the Trang River overflowed. People have set up tents on higher ground designated as evacuation centres by local authorities.
Meanwhile, more than 30 schools in Trang closed yesterday because of the flooding.
Floodwaters swamped nine districts in Trang province yesterday, affecting about 50,000 people and ravaging more than 20,000 rai (3,200 hectares) of farmland.
The main provincial highway, Phetkasem Road, was also swamped in Trang with floodwaters 30 to 50 centimetres deep.
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