Floods wreak havoc in five districts in Narathiwat

NARATHIWAT, Dec 18 -- Two days of heavy rains have inundated five districts in Narathiwat Province and wreaked havoc on some 37,000 residents.

The five districts flooded were Sukhirin, Waeng, Sungai Kolok, Chanae and Si Sakhon.

Several roads in Sukhirin and Chanae districts were also rendered impassable to light vehicles.

In a statement today, the Narathiwat Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Division said so far 37,171 residents from 8,335 families were affected by the floods.

“A total of 120 residents from 55 families have been evacuated to relief centres,” it said.

Zakariya Yusuf, a resident of Waeng district, said the flood was the worst in 23 years as this was the first time his house was flooded.

“The water level rose rapidly early this morning. We did not manage to move most of our belongings including cars and furniture to higher grounds,” he told Bernama today.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Meteorological Department forecast heavy rains in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat in southern Thailand.

-- BERNAMA