A military vehicle surges through floodwaters yesterday to deliver relief to affected villagers in Nan province.

Around 200 people from Tambon Hardkhed in Muang district were sheltering in a cemetery near their village, which was submerged by one metre of floodwater.

Many villagers in Tambon Kong Khwai climbed longan trees to escape being washed away. Around 300 villagers gathered at Nan Airport following rumours that military helicopters would evacuate some 2,000 residents of nearby Tha Wang Pha district, who were stranded in the floodwater.

Military police were deployed at the airport to control the crowd. Three helicopters have been flying in and out of the area, but only to provide supplies for the 2,000 people. The military is not considering using them for evacuation, said Lt-General Saphrang Kanlayanamitr of the Third Army Region.

A large number of the inmates of Nan's prison were shifted to a similar facility in Phrae by military trucks, which had an easier time getting through the high levels of accumulated water than civilian vehicles.

Patients and medical equipment at Nan Hospital were moved up to the second floor after the ground floor became submerged.

Three men held in Muang Nan Police Station were given special stools to sit on as the sole detention cell there was flooded. Police officers were working on the second floor, surrounded by documents moved up there.

The chairman of the provincial chamber of commerce, Thanakorn Ratchatanont, said damage caused by the flooding to local businesses had been estimated at around Bt500 million and had affected around 200 businessmen. Inter-province buses have stopped travelling after the main roads linking Nan with other provinces was flooded. Passengers with tickets were claiming refunds.

In Chiang Rai, floodwater from vast inundated areas in Doi Luang and Chiang Saen districts has been pumped into the Mekong River, said Deputy Governor Nopphorn Tonrab. He said mudslides were likely, though, in highland areas. Mae Fa Luang district chief Somchai Rungsakhon said mudslides had been reported in two places in Tambon Mae Slong Nok, but villagers had already moved out of the areas as they were among 19 locations deemed high-risk.

In Mae Hong Son, a section of Route 1226 between kilometres seven and nine linking Mae La Noi to Mae La Oob district that had been blocked by mudslides was cleared of debris but had not yet opened to traffic.