Wildlife park chief swept to death as floods batter provinces

Searchers find the submerged pickup driven by Sudjit Khorthong (inset) in the flooded creek bed. (Photo by Sunthorn Kongwarakom)

The head of a wildlife sanctuary died when his pickup truck was swept away by mountain runoff in Lom Sak district of Phetchabun shortly before dawn on Tuesday, as flash floods and landslides hit several provinces.

Sudjit Khorthong, 54, head of Phupa Daeng wildlife sanctuary in Lom Sak district, was believed to have been driving the pickup across a creek when a flash flood swept down on him around 5am.

The powerful current swamped and carried the pickup downstream.

A search team later found his submerged vehicle, but Sudjit was not in it. His body was found about 3 kilometres further downstream, caught among rocks and tree debris, around 9.30am as the water level dropped.

A close aide told police Sudjit was driving to a meeting in Phitsanulok.

Heavy downpours were reported in Lom Kao and Lom Sak districts of this lower northern province in the early hours of Tuesday. (continues below)

Officials inspect a creek in Lom Sak district after the water level dropped and the body of a wildlife sanctuary chief swept away by strong currents was found on Tuesday morning. (Photo by Sunthorn Kongwarakom)

Seven communities in four tambons - Tad Kloi, Ban Noen, Na Koh and Lom Kao - were flooded as canals and creeks in the area overflowed.

One house was swept away and the owner and family members lucky to escape alive. Several cars were also carried away.

In Phitsanulok, heavy continuous rain from midnight caused flooding across Noen Maprang district.

Overflow from Nam Pad canal inundated Ban Nam Phad School in tambon Chompu before dawn - the 10th time the school has been flooded this year.

School director Ket Tuankrue said teachers’ residences and the school canteen were about 1.5 metres deep in water. Teaching materials had earlier been moved to higher areas. It was fortunate the flooding occurred during the semester break, he said.

In Phichit, municipal workers on Tuesday built an embankment of sandbags along bank of the rising Nan River.

The water level rose 5-10cm in Bang Mun Nak district, and the river burst its banks. Floodwater was 30-50cm deep in many riverside houses. In low-lying areas it was more than a metre deep.

Over recent days, the flooding has affected 1,448 households at 29 villages in Bang Mun Nak district. A total of 13,543 rai of farmland is submerged.

In Chai Nat, almost 3,000 households in Sapphaya district of the central province were hit by flooding that damaged crops in over 16,000 rai of farmland in six districts.

A survey found a total of 2,719 households in seven tambons of Sapphaya district were affected. More than 500 had to be evacuated, with the water 1.8 metres and more deep. Disconsolate families set up tents on local roads.

Runoff from the north flowing into the Chao Phraya Dam reservoir was measured at 2,850 cubic metres per second on Tuesday morning. The dam continued to discharge water at 2,598 cu/m per second.

Residents downstream were stressed and upset after their homes and farmland were again inundated, depriving them of their livelihoods. Their worries grew as the weather office forecast that tropical storm Khanun and a monsoon trough would dump more heavy rain on Thailand and add to their problems.

Mental health counsellors from Sapphaya Hospital were on Tuesday assisting flood victims taking shelter on roads. Local police distributed dried food and vegetables.

In the northern province of Tak, a landslide swept down a mountain and onto the Umphang-Phop Phra road in Mae Sot district on Tuesday morning, blocking all traffic.

The road was cut between kilometre markers 60-62. Work gangs with heavy machinery were sent to clear the route, as the heavy rain continued. More landslides were predicted, putting other routes in this northern province at risk of closure.

In Ayutthaya, eight police patrol boats and crews were providing assistance to flood victims in affected areas in Bang Ban district.

The pickup truck driven by Sudjit Khorthong is revealed as the level of the flooded creek drops in Phetchabun on Tuesday. (Photo by Sunthorn Kongwarakom) Municipal workers erect sandbags to prevent the Nan River flooding communities in Bang Mun Nak district, Phichit. (Photo by Sitthipoj Kebui)

A landslide blocks a mountain road in Tak. (Photo by Assawin Pinitwong)