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Published on November 10, 2007

More than 30,000 residents have been affected by flooding, according to Pensri Kaewkumpai, head of

the Provincial Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

Record rainfall of 241 millimetres was measured in the provincial seat.

"The water level of rivers and canals is still rising, so government workers have built embankments to prevent flooding in the municipality," she said.

Local officials are keeping watch on the situation round the clock and provincial disaster workers are ready to respond to any emergency, she added.

Meanwhile, the airport on Samui island reopened yesterday morning, allowing more than 1,000 stranded tourists to leave.

A statement from Bangkok Airways, operator of the only airport on Samui, said all passengers stranded by the closure of the airport on Wednesday due to heavy flooding had been transferred to Bangkok.

It said it had cancelled a total of 18 Bangkok-Samui flights due to the flooding.

Pensri said that with heavy rain still pouring down on the already drenched island, flooding due to due to forest run-off and high tideswas a concern.

Local government workers face difficulty in draining water into the sea due to the volume of water involved.

The meteorological department said yesterday that a low pressure cell covering lower southern Thailand was continuing to cause widespread heavy rainfall from Chumphon southward.

Residents of Chumphon, Surat Thani, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Pattani, Yala, Phang Nga, Phuket and Krabi were advised to brace for torrential rainfall and floods.

The Nation

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT