Floods in Thai South to disappear early next year

NARATHIWAT, THAILAND, December 30 (TNA) - Floods in many areas in the Thai South have been gradually receding and local authorities expected they should disappear within five days unless there were more downpours. In Narathiwat Province, the sky was clear on Tuesday morning and the water level of the Su-ngai Kolok River there had dropped by 19 centimeters, compared with a day earlier. As the tide was not high and flooding in the adjacent Kelantan State of Malaysia was subsiding, floodwater in Narathiwat was drained faster into the sea, enabling local authorities to have helped flood-affected villagers and they foresaw if there were no more heavy downpours, flooding in the Thai South should end within five days. However, the Meteorological Department warned that from December 30, 2014 to January 1, 2015, it may rain heavily in the Thai South, covering Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat Provinces, advising small boats to be kept ashore until January 2, as waves in the sea should be as high as 2-4 meters in the lower part of the Gulf of Thailand, southwards from Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. (TNA)