Storm Noru weakens from typhoon to depression as it moves across Thailand
Tropical storm Noru has weakened from a super typhoon to a depression as it moves across Thailand. The Thai Meteorological Department has still advised people in 64 provinces to be prepared for heavy to heavy rainfall, which may cause flash flooding and overflows.
After Noru plundered Thailand’s northeast this week, the department said yesterday that the storm was moving west by northwest at about 10 kilometres per hour. The depression was packing wind speeds of around 55 kilometres per hour at its centre, the department said.
The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency released satellite images yesterday, which showed flooding in the Chi and Mun river basins covering over 65,000 hectares of land. This included rice fields in Si Sa Ket, Surin, Roi Et, Yasothon, Kalasin, Ubon Ratchathani, Maha Sarakham and Amnat Charoen provinces.
Meanwhile, officials all around Thailand are bracing for Noru to hit. Phuket’s Governor Narong held a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Wednesday to prepare the island province for the storm.
Narong said officials are ready to handle the storm with water removal, shelter, food, and other assistance.
This week, more than 4,000 people in Thailand’s northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani have been evacuated as of Wednesday night.
SOURCE: Thai PBS World
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