Photo: Doi Suthep
Torrential rain throughout last night at Doi Suthep sent a raging torrent of water cascading down the mountain, levelling many trees, causing mudslides and inundating several communities at its base this morning.
Residents said that the water came so fast that they were caught by surprise and were unable to move their valuables to higher ground.
Prakaithip Inthakul, a resident of Pa Ha community in Muang district, told Thai PBS that she managed to save a television set when water swept into her house, adding that she had to hold the TV set tight for fear that it might be swept away by the current.
Others in the same community said that all their valuables were submerged, if not washed away completely.
Photo: Pa Ha community
The Ang Kaeo reservoir, in the compound of Chiang Mai University, overflowed and partially flooded the university and nearby communities, forcing the Faculty of Mass Media to switch on-site classes today to on-line.
The latest report says that floodwater has receded, after the irrigation office opened the sluice gate to drain it into the irrigation canal, resulting in the rise of the water level in the canal and the flooding of Talad Ton Phayom intersection. Traffic was heavily congested as only one lane was passable.
Chiang Mai train station remains closed today, but staff have been arranging for stranded passengers to be transferred to a bus terminal instead. State Railways of Thailand has instructed its officials to check signalling systems and railway crossing barriers, to ensure they are in good working condition.
Passengers who bought advance train tickets for travel from yesterday until Monday can ask for a full refund if they want to cancel their journey.
Meanwhile in Thoen district of Lampang province, residents have been advised to brace for even worse flooding tomorrow, as more water will be discharged from Kiew Lom and Kiew Ko Ma reservoirs into the Wang River.
Additional sandbags have been distributed to residents in the district to protect their homes. About 200 households are currently under about 1.5m of floodwater.
Temporary shelters for the elderly and the unwell have been set up and public kitchens have been installed to provide free food to flood victims.
