Cabinet agrees to bail out rubber planters and tappers

Heavy flooding in the south of the country has killed 7 people, while many others have been injured. The worst of the flooding, which has affected 9 provinces, is in Nakhon Si Thammarat, which has had over 6 days of persistent rain. In total, the floods have affected over 261,000 households and tens of thousands of people, including a 14-month-old baby, who is in intensive care at a hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Vast areas of land are submerged, with road and rail travel severely affected in places.

The Bangkok Post reports that in Nakhon Si Thammarat alone, 150,000 rai of farmland is under water, with over 12,000 rai of aquatic animal farms destroyed. In addition, farm animals have been left with almost nowhere to graze.

Nakhon Si Thammarat airport continues to remain open, with scheduled flights landing and taking off. However, smaller vehicles are unable to use some areas of the airport road, with military vehicles drafted in to take passengers to the airport.

The other southern provinces hit by heavy rainfall and flooding are Surat Thani, Phatthalung, Trang, Satun, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. Pithakpol Boonyamalik from the Public Health Ministry says emergency workers are helping flood victims and water levels are now beginning to stabilise. He adds that a clean-up operation and rebuilding work will begin in 3 to 4 days.

Anucha Nakasai from the PM’s office says the government has sent manpower and various resources to provide assistance and evacuate the flood victims. The Interior Ministry has ordered local officials to allocate funds to the rescue efforts in their areas, with immediate effect. The cost of the clean up, and how long it might take, is not known at this stage.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

Police in Bangkok arrested a Thai couple for allegedly smuggling 1 million methamphetamine pills. Police say 28 year old Weerasak Jedhun and 29 year old Jutharat Daengnoi planned to deliver and distribute the drugs to clients in the South.

The arrests stem from an earlier bust in Nonthaburi, a suburb outside Bangkok, where police seized 1 million methamphetamine pills and 15 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, according to police. The Patrol and Special Operation Division say that after the bust, they got a tip about a drug trafficking operation from a similar network.

Police stopped and arrested the couple at a petrol station in Bangkok. Along with seizing 1 million methamphetamine pills, police confiscated 3 mobile phones and a car.

Weerasak and Jutharat allegedly told police that they were paid about 50,000 baht to drive from the southern province Phatthalung up to Bangkok, pick up the drugs and drive back to the South to distribute the pills. The couple allegedly told police they were hired for a 3 month stint.

Police say Weerasak is also allegedly involved in 4 other drug cases. In one case, a methamphetamine pill was allegedly found in his pocket, but he claims a police officer set him up.

SOURCE: Pattaya News

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The governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat has put the disaster mitigation office on high alert, following 6 days of heavy rain in the southern province. Large swathes of land are underwater after extensive flooding that has affected tens of thousands of people in the region. The Bangkok Post reports that governor Kraisorn Wisitwong says floods have been recorded in 351 villages in 15 districts, with over 290,000 rai of farmland underwater and nearly 48,000 people affected.

PHOTO:ฉ่าริฟ ริฟ ดีนนุ้ย

Nakhon Si Thammarat airport is open, but the flooding has had a severe impact on both road and rail travel, including on roads leading to the airport. Travellers are being advised t0 allow plenty of time for the journey.

Yesterday, severe flooding along a 1-kilometre stretch of the road from Nakhon Si Thammarat to Tung Song saw it submerged under 70 – 100 centimetres of rainwater, with cars and other vehicles unable to use it. The main road in the city of Nakhon Si Thammarat, the Pattanakarn-Khu Khwang road, was also flooded for a 2-kilometre stretch. There were flash floods further south too, in Phatthalung province, caused by water run-off from the Bantad mountains.

Train travel in the south has been impacted, with floods forcing the cancellation of several services. The State Railway of Thailand says 12 services were either cancelled or suspended yesterday. 4 express services between Hat Yai and the border town of Sungai Kolok were cancelled, while a number of trains between Trang and Nakhon Si Thammarat terminated early at Thung Song station, due to sections of the track being flooded further on. Buses were brought in to ferry passengers to their final destination.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post