Nan – Eight people died in Nan province this weekend when heavy rainfall triggered a deadly mudslide in Huay Khab village in Bo Kluea district.
Local officers, rescuers, and volunteers on Saturday spent several hours looking for the bodies of mudslide victims in four devastated houses, amidst heavy precipitation. Three of the deceased were children.
On Sunday, Governor Paisan Wimonrat and representatives of the Nan Provincial Red Cross Chapter and relevant agencies visited a local school in Dong Phaya sub-district, which is serving as an evacuation center for disaster-torn residents to offer cash aid and relief items to the families of mudslide victims.
Preecha Somchai, the chief of Bo Kluea district meanwhile visited the center to provide necessities to the disaster-stricken villagers. Pua Crown Prince Hospital has set up a medical unit providing treatment and mental health counseling to the affected.
The Huay Khab village has been declared a disaster-prone area. Around 200 residents have been evacuated and are under the care of the military, local administrative organizations and Nan Provincial Irrigation Project. Public access to the village is being denied for safety reasons.
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha offered his condolences to the victims’ families and also voiced his concern for people across the country as heavy rain is forecast in most regions, leading to the possibility of flashfloods.
In Nakhon Phanom province, continuous rainfall has again increased the quantity of water in the Mekong River. The water level was last recorded at 11 meters high, only two meters short of a critical level, and causing water in streams that flow into the river to back up, raising fears of flooding in nearby communities and agricultural plantations. A flood warning has already been issued.
