Prachuap Khiri Khan floods trigger evacuations

Bang Saphan Hospital in Prachuap Khiri Khan transferred 10 patients in critical condition to a provincial hospital last night amid heavy flooding triggered by more than 200 millimetres of rainfall in just 24 hours in parts of the province. Floodwaters outside the Bang Saphan Hospital prompted the evacuation of nine patients on respiratory aid as well as a pregnant woman.

At least five schools remain closed today.

Kittikorn Thepyoo-amnuay, head of the provincial disaster prevention and mitigation office says the water level at Wang Yao Bridge on the Phetchkasem Highway was “beyond critical” at above 7.5 metres and still rising.

Parts of urban Prachuap Khiri Khan were inundated and runoff from the Tanaosri Mountain Range was expected to add to the city’s woes this afternoon, he warned. Some 3,000 residents of Bang Saphan Noi district have already been affected, Kittikorn said, and aid was being distributed.

Second Lieutenant Kowit Sukkham, head of the Muang Prachuap Khiri Khan military team charged with maintaining order, has supplemented his officers with soldiers from Thanarat Military Camp in helping flood-affected residents of Tambon Bang Saphan in Bang Saphan Noi district, where hours of rainfall had left low-laying areas submerged in 130 centimetres of floodwater.

STORY: The Nation