Mae Hong Son school inundated by flooding in Thailand’s north

The clean up is continuing today at a school for hilltribe children in Mae Hong Son’s Mae Sariang district in far north Thailand was hit by mountain runoff and floodwaters from last week’s heavy rain. The Ban Pho Sor School in Tambon Saohin was inundated by mountain runoff following heavy rains late Friday and into Saturday.

The school provides education for children of poor hilltribe families in the tambon. It teaches 364 students from kindergarten to secondary levels.

The main school building was not damaged but the water inundated teachers’ quarters and the students’ sleeping quarters.

The district chief says 24 sacks of rice and all the dried noodles, destined as meals for the children, were damaged. Cans of fish were also under water and may need to be thrown out as well. 30 chickens, whose eggs were used to cook for students, were drowned along with three pigs. The floods and mudslide also damaged a mushroom greenhouse and the school vegetable garden.

On Sunday, troops from the Mae Hong Son-based 36th Army Development Battalion and officials of the provincial administration used heavy machinery to clear the 60 kilometre long road from downtown Mae Sariang to the Ban Phosor village. The road was blocked by mud and fallen trees in 39 locations along the road. The road was back in operation by Sunday night.

SOURCE: The Nation