Flooding in Thailand Strands Thousands in Northern Province, Reports Reuters

By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Military special forces have been deployed in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province as flooding has trapped thousands of residents. Authorities are working to reach those affected using boats and helicopters.

Since mid-August, at least 33 fatalities have been reported throughout Thailand due to various rain-related incidents, including landslides. This week alone, nine deaths have been recorded in two northern provinces impacted by adverse weather linked to Typhoon Yagi.

Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful storm to strike Asia this year, has resulted in at least 197 deaths in Vietnam, where it made landfall on Saturday and caused significant flooding in Hanoi.

In Chiang Rai’s Mai Sai district, floodwaters are starting to recede in some areas, but many riverside communities remain submerged, according to district chief Narongpol Kid-an. “We are rushing to bring out people trapped inside their houses,” he stated, emphasizing that hundreds of individuals still require rescue.

Local authorities are conducting rescue operations with the help of boats and helicopters supported by Thai Navy SEAL special forces. “The situation is very delicate,” Narongpol continued. “When it rains, the water rises very quickly.”

The Thai Navy has deployed nine flat-bottom boats to deliver over a thousand aid packages in the affected areas. Floodwaters have also reached parts of Chiang Rai city, inundating critical roads and urban locations.

Of the ten flights scheduled at Chiang Rai airport on Thursday, nine were canceled. While the airport itself was not flooded, access roads had become impassable due to rising waters, as noted by Kornchit Chomphudeng, head of Chiang Rai’s Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. “The flooding this time has spread over a wider area than the recent floods,” he remarked.

Chiang Rai, a mountainous region traversed by the Kok River, was among five northern Thai provinces that experienced severe flooding last month.

Authorities plan to utilize Thai Air Force helicopters to deliver food and water to approximately 3,000 people stranded in the Ban Kwai Wua Dam area of Chiang Rai. Additionally, around 200 others are trapped in a school awaiting evacuation to a rescue center.

Thailand’s Office of National Water Resources issued a warning on Thursday to 36 provinces, including the capital, for potential flash floods due to heavy rainfall.