Songkla, Narathiwa, Phatthalung, Yala, southern provinces located on the western coast of Gulf of Thailand, are among the hardest-hit. In Hai Yai, Songkla`s economic center, floodwater reaches 2-meters deep and disaster status, signified by red flags, has been announced. Residents rushed to move their cars and belonging to higher grounds.
Some Malaysian and Singaporean tourists who celebrated New Year in the city were stranded in their hotels as roads and railways were cut off. A 54-year-old male villager was reportedly drowned after failing to leave his flooded house.
In Narathiwa, 8 districts were declared disaster zones. In Yala, the overflow from Pattani river submerged nearby roads, where motorists wearing raincoats or holding umbrella were seen driving cautiously. In Phatthalung, eight hikers who went into a forest have not been heard from for two days.
According to the meteorology station in Yala, the torrential rain in the south is caused by the combined effects of the northeastern monsoon in the Gulf of Thailand and a low pressure cell covering northern Malaysia.
(H-AK)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
