Saturday, November 26, 2005
2 die, 4 hurt in Patong landslides
PHUKET: Landslides caused by torrential rains claimed two lives in
Patong last night and injured four others, according to Patong
Hospital.
The downpour also caused extensive flooding in Phuket City and many
other parts of the island.
Padungkiat Utoksenee, Deputy Director of Patong Hospital, said that
while flooding in Patong often resulted in accidents, last night was
the first time people had been killed by a landslide.
He said the victims were a Thai mother and her child who lived on the
densely-settled Nanai Rd. The landslide crashed through the wall of
their dwelling, he said.
The names of the dead and injured, all Thai nationals, have not been
released pending notification of kin, he added.
Nanai Rd runs along the base of the hills that encircle the
municipality, and which have been the site of extensive, largely
unregulated, hillside construction in recent years. Homeowners build
ever higher up the hillside to gain sea views.
Much of the construction is in direct violation of a provincial ban on
building permanent structures higher than 80 meters above sea level,
and other building codes.
Noting that the parking lot of Patong Hospital was knee-deep in
floodwater - as were other parts of the town - K. Padungkiat called
on Patong Municipality to improve its flood control measures.
Boonchai Somjai, head of the Phuket Provincial Office of Disaster
Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), told the Gazette that the rainfall
statistics for the 24-hour period starting at 7 am yesterday were 92.9
millimeters at the Phuket City monitoring station and 25mm at the
Phuket International Airport.
He said "nearly every road" in Phuket City experienced flooding, as
did roads in Cherng Talay.
The ODPM was coordinating with tambon authorities and municipalities to
ensure a fast recovery by ensuring floodwater drains off as quickly as
possible, he said.
More heavy rain is expected. Chumnong Chitpukdee, Director of the
Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), told the Gazette that the
low-pressure system covering the central and lower part of Southern
Thailand would continue to bring heavy rain throughout the region.
It has already brought severe flooding along the east coast of
peninsular Thailand, and resulted in deaths in Chumpon, Surat Thani,
Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Phattalung and as far south as Narathiwat.
The forecast for Phuket in the 24 hours from noon today predicts
widespread thundershowers over 70% of the island.
Winds will be northeasterly at 20-40 kmh; wave heights will be 2-3
meters. Shipping should proceed with caution.
K. Chumnong said the bad weather would probably not last more than two
days, after which time clear conditions would prevail because the rain
is expected to remove much of the haze from the atmosphere.
|
215070. Phuket flooded
215070. Phuket flooded
|
|
