[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Thursday 22 December 2005 :-

SOUTHERN FLOODING: Damage to Hat Yai estimated at Bt1 billion


Spending dries up in region’s business centre; M’sian tourists stay at home. Floods have caused up to Bt1 billion in damages to Hat Yai district in Songkhla, which is considered to be the commercial hub of southern Thailand.

“Even though relevant authorities have managed to drain floodwater from the business district, the adverse consequences have continued because nearby areas remain submerged and consumers there have stopped spending,” said Chit Banluesilp, chairman of the Songkhla Chamber of Commerce yesterday.

Songkhla is one of eight provinces that have been hit by floods recently.

Sorajak Juthong, who chairs the Songkhla Entertainment Business Association, said the entertainment district in the province is still under nearly one metre of floodwater.

“That means nearly 100 entertainment venues in the district have had to shut down throughout the week. Given that each place usually earns around Bt30,000 each night, the damages in lost business are huge,” he said.

He added that consumers are unlikely to spend money during such hard times.

Noppol Prakijwattanakool, the chairman of Hat Yai Retailer Club, said he believed consumers are spending less money during this holiday season.

“Malaysian tourists will not be coming because their home country is also flooded,” he said.

While authorities rushed to protect Hat Yai, several other districts in the province remained submerged. In Thepa district, strong currents swept two 15-year-old girls away as they were driving a motorcycle.

The body of one of the girls, Pakamart Petchkaew, has already been found, while Parichart Pansai remains missing and is feared dead. Pattani Governor Panu Utairat said around 87 per cent of the province was damaged in the flood. He said that damages to infrastructure, houses and farmlands were estimated at around Bt97 million. As of press time, some 300 families were still seeking shelter on higher ground after their houses had become submerged by floodwater.

Phra Mahacharat Uchucharo, the deputy abbot at Chang Hai Temple in Pattani’s Khok Pho district, said relevant authorities had yet to deliver aid to monks. “Our temple is flooded. Fortunately some local people still give us food,” he said.

In Trang, provincial disaster prevention and mitigation chief Sant Chatarawong said damages to farmland, livestock and fish farms alone have risen to over Bt47 million.

A landslide in Phatthalung’s Kong Ra district resulted in numerous trees being uprooted over 20 rai of farmland. Provincial authorities now plan to evacuate 500 families in nearby areas.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said the flooding situation in the South looked set to improve because the rains had stopped.

Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said donations for flood victims in the South had risen to Bt336,320 in addition to piles of relief items. “We have already sent six trucks with relief items to the South, and we are going to send more,” he said.

Locals in Phuket, which has not been affected by the floods, have also been raising funds for flood victims.