Metrological Department warns Pattaya susceptible to heavy storms and floods
The
Nova Gold Hotel on Soi A.R. took the brunt of last week’s flooding, with
water submerging four cars and five motorbikes. According to the Pattaya
Metrological Department, it’s not over and we should expect more wet
conditions in the week ahead.
AP & Staff
Reporters
Last week’s all-night downpour flooded North Pattaya
in a sea of runoff and garbage, turning the beach into a cesspool while
flooding hotels, cars and a 7-Eleven.
The heaviest of several overnight storms, the Oct. 13
monsoon that covered Thailand from the Andaman Sea to Bangkok began
before midnight and did not relent until after dawn.
Pattaya’s drainage systems, infamous for not being
able to handle even an hour of heavy rain, were inundated. Flash
flooding washed soil, rocks, plastic and other garbage through the city
from east to west, dumping the putrid contents onto Pattaya Beach and
into underground parking lots.
High
waves pounded Pattaya Beach last week.
The Nova Gold Hotel, on Soi A.R., took the worst of
it, with water submerging four cars and five motorbikes. A nearby
7-Eleven had several windows broken by flood-carried debris.
The Pattaya Metrological Department announced on
Tuesday that the eastern region of Thailand, including Pattaya, will get
rainfall all week with heavy downpours in some areas. The announcement
read: “Pattaya has had rain throughout the week and more is expected.”
Heavy rains caused flooding in some areas inundating
homes and cars. Residents have stacked sandbags in front of their homes
and shops as an extra precaution.
The greater Pattaya area might also feel some effects
from the extreme outer edges of super typhoon Megi, which was predicted
to hit the coastlines of Guangdong and Hainan provinces in Southern
China on Thursday night or Friday. However, meteorologists predicted
that we won’t be hit by the full brunt of the typhoon.
The Pattaya Metrological Department announced that
storms are gathering force and will continue to hit the northern and
central regions of Thailand. People living in mountainous areas are
warned to be extra careful of landslides and flash floods.
Cold weather is also forecast for the northern and
northeastern regions, where temperatures will drop between 2-4 degrees
Celsius.
In hardest-hit Nakhon Ratchasima province in the
northeast, the water levels forced one hospital to evacuate 1,300
patients to other hospitals in nearby provinces. In one district, three
6.6-foot (2-meter) alligators escaped from a farm located near a river
that burst its banks. Two of them were subsequently captured.
In Pattaya, residents who need to report any
instances of flooding or need assistance can call these emergency
numbers: Seekram radio centre: 038 427 960, Centre for Public Safety 038
278 031-2; or 1337 (24 hours).
The
storms left a mess on the beaches, but luckily, city workers have been
hard at work and have managed to clean up the garbage.
