North cleans up after wet weekend
5 provinces in Thailand’s North – Chiang Mai, Phayao, Lampang, Nan and Phrae – all suffered serious flooding on Saturday, causing damage in 15 districts, 189 villages and more than 1,400 households. Nan province suffered the most, with 960 households in 6 subdistricts damaged and 1 person dead.
Officials in Chiang Mai warned visitors and residents to stay away from the region’s waterfalls. Doi Inthanon National Park officials say that flash floods were caused by heavy rains and making the waterfalls unsafe and unpredictable due to the high water flows at the moment.
Kritsiam Kongsatree, the Doi Inthanon National Park director, noted that heavy rains began on Saturday morning, intensifying the currents at the Mae Ya Waterfall and Mae Klang Waterfall in the national park.
Rain levels have dropped since Saturday morning and today only has a 20% chance of rain in the forecast for Chiang Mai. But nearby residents, warned about the fast flowing waterfalls on Saturday, are being cautioned to watch for any more heavy rain.
