Five family members, including a child, trapped in a heavily-flooded house in Mae Rim district of Chiang Mai were rescued last night by an emergency team, after three villages in the district were inundated by overflows from the Sa River.
Rescue and relief officials were ordered by the district chief to help the flood victims, especially the elderly and children. No casualties have been reported, as the flood situation improves today.
Meanwhile, water from the Mae Chaem River began flooding houses in Chang Khoeng Subdistrict early this morning. The area is densely populated and is also home to government offices, educational institutions, and the district’s main commercial center.
Flooding also spread to agricultural areas in parts of Tha Pha and Chang Khoeng subdistricts.
Mae Chaem District Chief, Kriangsak Buntapuan, ordered deputy district chiefs and officials to help residents move belongings to higher ground and evacuate vulnerable groups.
He also coordinated with local administrative organizations to urgently provide assistance to the affected communities.
Meanwhile, in Tha Wang Pha district of Nan province, the Phet Kasem Foundation reports that flash floods swept into Pha Tor sub-district, forcing many residents to rush to move their valuables to higher ground.
Mud slides were also reported in Santisuk, Bor Klua and Tha Wang Pha districts of Nan last night. Reports of damage were not available at the time of this report.
In Lom Sak district of Phetchabun province, workers used a crane to install sandbags and barriers, to reinforce the floodwall to protect the commercial area from flooding.
A furniture shop-owner in the district, Noppadol, said that this is the fourth flood this year in the district, adding that he has not yet completed the cleanup of the sediment left by the last flood.
In Phayao province, provincial officials have warned people in low-lying areas and close to natural waterways to brace for possible flooding, caused by the effects of typhoon Ragasa.
The Meteorological Department forecasts isolated heavy rain for Mae Hong Son, Tak, Mukdahan, Yasothon, Amnart Charoen, Si Sa Ket, Ubon Ratchathani, Chanthaburi and Trat provinces in the next 24 hours, due to a monsoon trough in the northern region and the southwestern monsoon weather system over the Andaman Sea.
Typhoon Ragasa is expected to move into the Bay of Tonkin and make landfall in northern Vietnam either tomorrow or Thursday, as it weakens into a tropical storm, a depression and, eventually, a low pressure cell.
