Thousands affected as tropical storm Talas lashes many northern provinces

A landslide onto a road to Phra That Doi Tung in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district yesterday afternoon prompted officials to close the two-lane road until Monday. People wishing to access the temple this weekend have to walk two kilometres. In Nan province where Chiang Klang, Pua, Tha Wang Pha, Bor Klua, Santisuk and Mae Jarim districts have been hit with downpours since Monday, residents still suffered flood damages. 
Some 2,000 residents in three villages have been affected by a route closure due to the severely damaged bridge at Ban Nam Tuang in Tambon Nam Pang of Mae Jarim district, said provincial governor Paisal Wimonrat. 
For now, officials have placed metal sheets on the bridge so villagers can walk or ride motorcycles across, he said.
The Mae Jarim flood also destroyed two tap-water pipe systems. Fallen tree branches also damaged electricity and telephone signal wires, resulting in blackouts and disconnection at Nam Pang’s Ban Nam Tuang, Nong Daeng’s Ban Kiew Nam and Ban Sawang. 
In Phichit’s Sam Ngam district, 20 low-lying homes in Tambon Rang Nok suffered one-metre-deep floods yesterday, while runoffs from the upstream Pheatchabun mountain range caused a canal in Tambon Wang Lum of Taphan Hin district to rise fast, threatening to flood more homes. 
In Wang Sai Poon district, six riverside homes were submerged.
Overnight, heavy rains measured at 120mm caused flooding on a 200-metre-long section of the Mitraprap Highway to Nong Khai City, causing traffic jams yesterday morning.
In Kalasin, heavy rains caused creeks to overflow, sending up to two-metre-deep floodwater across farmlands in Na Khu and Khao Wong districts damaging 200 rai of rice paddies. The Lampao Dam received 160 million cubic metres of water in three days and was now at 54 per cent of its 1.9 billion cubic metre capacity.
In Sukhothai, the Muang Sukhothai Municipality used big sandbags to erect temporary flood levees to protect business areas as the Yom River, which runs through downtown, was expected to burst its banks later yesterday. Local administrators also had water pumps installed and tools prepared in case the river burst its banks.
In related news, several roads in Chon Buri’s downtown area were flooded yesterday morning following overnight heavy rains. In Sri Racha district, a big tree was toppled by strong winds, blocking the Lao Moo Na Prao-Nong Ya Bu road but it was promptly removed by officials.