Floods hit several Thai areas

TRANG, August 28 (TNA) - Floods have hit many Thai areas, some in the North and some in the South, amid drought in several other areas in the country, particularly those in the Northeaast. In the southern Trang Province, flash floods caused by torrential downpours overnight, coupled with overflows from Sawang Canal, have inundated Baan Huay Riang in Muang District, with part of the village being submerged by over one metres, damaging over 70 houses and more than 100 rai of local farmlands, including those of rubber and oil palm plantations and fruit orchards. Low-lying areas in the Na Muang Phet locality have also been submerged by 20-50 centimetre-floodwater. In nearby Krabi Province, flash floods from the Phanom Benja mountain range have overflown Krabi Yai Canal and inundated areas in the Tab-prik locality in Muang District, prompting officials at the Benja National Park to have been on alert and closely monitored updates. In Uttaradit Province in the Lower Thai North, people in many areas of Lab Lae District have also been affected by floods, as over 10,000 rai or 16 square kilometres of local paddy fields have been submerged, causing hardships to more than 500 households in seven villages. Meanwhile, several other Thai areas, especially those in the Northeast, have been hit by drought, prompting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to have assigned agencies concerned, including the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, to immediately assist people in the drought-stricken zones in an integrated manner, covering artificial rain operations. The prime minister also invited the general public to visit a water exhibition to be organized in Bangkok from August 31-September 2, during which detailed measures on her administration's flood prevention this year and in the long-run will be publicized. (TNA)