And down came the rain

Flash floods caused by heavy rain swept a handful of provinces at the weekend, including Nakhon Ratchasima, Lop Buri, Nakhon Nayok, Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Sawan and Phetchabun. The floods have brought train services to a halt and forced factories to close and residents to evacuate their homes. In Nakhon Ratchasima, flooding is the worst in 50 years. Governor Rapee Pongbuppakit yesterday declared 15 districts disaster zones.

More than 100,000 residents were affected as floodwaters in most areas rose to more than one metre yesterday. More than 20,000 rai (3,200 hectares) of farmland have been inundated.

Pornsut Thongsard, of the State Railway of Thailand, said flash floods yesterday forced train services to a halt at three spots in Nakhon Ratchasima, one location in Chaiyaphum and one in Nakhon Sawan. Solid rain submerged some sections of track in one to 1.2 metres of water. More than 1,000 police were deployed to help motorists along Mittraphap Highway covering a wide stretch of the road from Nakhon Ratchasima's Muang to Pak Chong districts.

In Pak Thong Chai district, more than 100 households in Muang Pak municipal area were isolated as severe flooding cut access roads and hampered efforts to evacuate residents. In Sung Noen district, floods stranded hundreds of workers inside their workplaces for more than 10 hours.

Tiring of the wait, hundreds of staff from four factories in the Navanakorn Industrial Estate late yesterday waded through floodwaters up to 1.3 metres deep from their factories to the estate's entrance. Most factories at the industrial estate were closed temporarily.

In Lop Buri, three tambons in Muang district - Nikhom, Tasala and Kokko - and several areas in Chai Badan district were flooded after water levels in the Sub Lek and Sub Takien reservoirs overflowed the watergates. In Nakhon Nayok, flash floods from the hills inundated more than 10 villages. Many roads were cut off and villagers moved their belongings to higher ground to prevent damage.

Sourced=bangkokpost