Phu Thap Boek run-off turns villages into sea of mud

Local residents remove dried tree branches and other debris swept into a canal under the bridge to make water flow faster as mountain runoff from Phu Thap Boek, triggered by heavy downpours, tore through several villages on Saturday. (Photo by Sunthorn Kongwarakom)

PHETCHABUN: Run-off from Phu Thap Boek mountain tore through several villages in Lom Kao district early Saturday morning, turning the area into a sea of mud and sparking fears of a possible landslide.

Heavy downpours pounded Lom Kao district, breaking the banks of Wang Ban. A huge volume of water flowed through villages Moo 8,10, 11,15 along the canal.

Mountain runoff from Phu Thap Boek, triggered by heavy rains, exacerbated the situation, turning the four villages into a sea of mud.

The strong currents and a sudden avalanche of mud sparked fears among local people of a possible landslide. A bridge in front of Srithan temple at Village Mooo 15 was flooded. Water also inundated a local road and the entire village on Saturday morning.

Residents raced against time to remove dried tree branches and debris from the bridge's neck to facilitate water flow. The water began to recede at around 9.30am.

Pratom Chuebunmee, head of Village Moo 11, said heavy rains began to hit his community at around 5am on Saturday.

He was later alerted of the huge runoff by a senior monk at Wang Hang monastery, located in a valley north of the village.

This prompted him to recruit volunteers to man a security guard booth at Wang Ban intersection so they could inform local residents and those living in nearby villages of imminent flooding and landslides.