Homes in Fang Thon were
inundated with up to 1.2 meters of muddy floodwater.
Teerarak Suthathiwong
Fueled by two typhoons, 2013’s rainy season is proving especially
damaging to the Pattaya area, where residents are again looking for dry
ground.
Most recently, the Eastern Seaboard took a pounding from Typhoon Nari Oct.
15-16, the second this month.
Pattaya and Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan officials came to the rescue of 47
households in Fang Thon where 1.2 m. of water inundated homes.
Village Chief Weerasak Naphom said repeated floods in this community are
normal in the low-lying neighborhood, which catches runoff from Takientia,
Rong Poh and Laem Chabang. Even a 400-meter-long concrete berm constructed
after the 2011 floods could not hold back the water.
Former Culture Minister Sukumol Kunplome led a delegation of public
officials and charity organizations in donating dried food, drinking water
and relief bags to residents.
Sukumol inspected the walls of the Thakradan Canal,
finding that its concrete sides, built by the Provincial Electrical
Authority, were not high enough and said she’d seek another 10 million baht
to add to them in November.
In the Thakradan Temple neighborhood, canals overflowed and ran as deep as
two meters in area streets. Sawang Boriboon rescuers in boats helped
evacuate more than 50 families, moving them and their valuables to an
emergency center on Sukhumvit Road.
Banglamung District Chief Sakchai Taengho organized evacuations and oversaw
distribution of sleeping mats and food. Meanwhile, the PEA donated
generators and area hospitals sent nurses to care for the ill.
