Brave teacher in Tak battles ‘claypocalypse’ to keep school open
Teachers in Tak province are battling a wet season “claypocalypse” to keep schools open for children.
While people in other provinces struggle with floods, residents of Tak’s Umphang district are getting bogged down as clay-soil roads turn into rutted orange swamps. Short journeys in the district are now taking up to six hours, with vehicles at risk of becoming stuck in the deep sludge. Local officials are now on standby with tow trucks to extract motorists from the sticky situation.
Narong Puangkham, a teacher at Umphang District Informal Education Centre, said locals were totally reliant on four-wheel drive vehicles and trail motorcycles during the rainy season.
He explained that many schools were located in Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary, where road conditions are especially bad. He also admitted to being exhausted by the daily battle he faced travelling to school.
"However, I am proud of my work as a teacher, helped by colleagues, students and villagers," he said, vowing to continue his duties at the education centre.
The Thai Meteorological Department forecasts heavy to very heavy rain will bring flash floods and runoff across most of Thailand until Wednesday. It warns of isolated heavy to very heavy showers in the North, Northeast, Central region including Bangkok, East and South.
