Regional and local news from across Thailand's provinces — in English, from Thai PBS World, Thailand's public broadcaster.
The Cabinet declared a state of emergency in Songkhla province today and appointed Supreme Commander Gen Ukrit Boontanont as the flood situation director, in charge of coordinating the flood relief operations of all agencies.
About 90 seriously-ill patients are to be evacuated from Hat Yai hospital, with the first group of 50 to be airlifted by helicopters to nearby hospitals today, due to the deteriorating flood situation and critical shortage of medical oxygen, which is sufficient for just one more day, Public Health Permanent Secretary Dr. Somruek Joengsamarn said today.
Many people are stranded without food, drinking water or electricity on the upper floors or rooftops of their flooded houses, hostels and condominiums in Hat Yai, as evacuation is being hampered by continuous rain and strong currents, to the extent that even boats are unable to reach them.
A fire erupted in a building in Hat Yai’s commercial district this morning, trapping about 20 people inside.
Four southern provinces of Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Songkhla provinces are facing flooding, after they were lashed by very heavy rain in the past few days, induced by a cold front.
A minor quake, measuring at 2.4 on the Richter scale, shook the resort island of Ko Samui in Surat Thani province shortly after midnight last night.
People living outside the protection of floodwalls in Ayutthaya, Sing Buri, Ang Thong and Chainat provinces have been advised to prepare for rising floodwaters, as the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) will gradually, starting at 4pm today, increaseg the rate of discharge through the Chao Phraya Dam, from 2,800m3/s to a maximum of 2,900m3/s by 2am tomorrow morning.
The flooding situation in several central provinces is deteriorating, as the water level in the Chao Phraya River keeps rising due to increased discharge through the Chao Phraya Dam in Chainat province.
Half of the central province of Ayutthaya is currently inundated, as the water levels in the Chao Phraya and Noi rivers have steadily risen, after the Royal Irrigation Department increased the rate of discharge through the Chao Phraya dam to 2,700m3/s.
About 1,000 grasshoppers took part in a chirping contest held on Wednesday night, in Ban Lae Mang-ok village in the Saba Yoi district of Songkhla province, in the hope of winning prizes ranging from cattle, cellphones and ovens to electric fans.
The Royal Irrigation Department has decided to increase water discharge through the Chao Phraya Dam in Chainat province, from 2,300m3/s to 2,400m3/s, from 10am today, in anticipation of more rain due to the intensification of a monsoon trough and the influence of Typhoon Kalmaegi, which is forecast to make landfall in Vietnam this weekend.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has declared an emergency at the Mae Moh coal mine in Lampang, after continuous rainfall triggered a massive landslide early this morning.
