The Nan provincial administration has deployed manpower and equipment to Pua district for a major cleanup and rehabilitation operation after floodwater receded. It left behind a trail of damaged houses, submerged cars and muddy roads.
More than 8,000 homes to over 16,000 people in nine sub-districts have been affected by the flooding, with many without electricity or clean water, making it difficult for them to clear their houses of a thick layer of mud carried by the floodwaters.
A number of flood victims complained that the floodwater came so fast that it caught them off-guard and unable to move some of their valuables to higher ground.
Governor Chainarong Wongyai ordered relief teams to Pua and Tha Wangpha districts to provide help and to restore public utilities, so the affected households have access to power and water and resume a normal life. Boxed lunches and drinking water have been provided.
Several resorts located along the Nan River in Pua district have sustained damage from the strong currents carrying broken tree trunks and branches washed downstream from mountainous areas.
One resort operator said that flooding is normal in Pua district and he has to make adjustments for the natural phenomenon to keep his business going, adding that he must, however, be better prepared to cope with future floods.
Meanwhile, Dr. Seree Supratid, director of the Climate Change and Public Disasters Centre at Rangsit University, said that the water level in the Nan River is expected to fall today and tomorrow, although there will be rain this Sunday in Nan due to a low pressure cell over northern Vietnam.
He warned, though, that the ground in the province is already waterlogged and will not be able to absorb much more rainfall, posing the threat of mudslides and flash floods.
