Tens of Thousand Displaced by Flooding in Thailand

Disaster zones declared in southern Thailand amid deadly flooding

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in southern Thailand as severe floods destroy or damage many thousands of homes, killing about a dozen people, and leaving vast tracts of crops spoiled.

Authorities have declared a state of disaster in 8 provinces including Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Surat Thani and Trang.

Hundreds of villages have been evacuated in Narathiwat, reportedly the hardest hit province.

The main reservoir in Tha Chana district had been filled to capacity and was overflowing, sending down a surge of floodwater and prompting warnings about potentially deadly landslides, officials told the Bangkok Post.

Meantime, 3-meter high waves have been pounding the Gulf of Thailand, officials said.

Recent Flood Toll in Thailand

October 2, 2013. Deadly floods affected 32 of Thailand’s 77 provinces killing at least 23 people, affecting 2.85 million others and forcing at least 15,000 people to abandon their homes, said the Thai Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department. By October 17, the death toll had climbed to at least 68, and flooding had affected 359 districts in 46 provinces across the north, northeastern and central regions, leaving 230,000 families displaced, the Ministry of Interior reported.

Images of the Day: Ike has left!

Almost Nothing Left!

A home is left standing among debris from Hurricane Ike September 14, 2008 in Gilchrist, Texas. Floodwaters from Hurricane Ike are reportedly as high as eight feet in some areas causing widespread damage across the coast of Texas. (Photo credit: Smiley N. Pool/AFP/Getty Images). Image may be subject to copyright.

A Private Island in Texas!

Ike leaves devastation in its wake: A house near Winnie, Texas, is cut off by flooding caused by Hurricane Ike. September 14, 2008  (Smiley N. Pool/AFP/Getty Images). Image may be subject to copyright.

End of The Road!

Floodwaters from Hurricane Ike surround houses near Winnie, Texas. September 14, 2008  (Smiley N. Pool/AFP/Getty Images). Image may be subject to copyright.

The Day the Dead ‘Rose’ from their Graves!

Floodwaters brought by Hurricane Ike cover a cemetery in Orange, Texas. September 14, 2008. (Smiley N. Pool/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images). Image may be subject to copyright.

Environmental Disasters: Too Close for Comfort?

submitted by a reader

“You ain’t seen nothing yet!”

Beginning to feel that the environmental disasters are getting up close and personal?

One minute you are in your comfortable home near Paradise, north of Sacramento, the next minute you are being consoled by the firefighters as you stand in the front garden watching your home turn into blackened cinder. They apologize for failing to help you, but it wasn’t their fault. They ran out of water!

Wondering why?

Butte Valley fire, Humboldt, Thursday night. Image: Jason Halley / Chico Enterprise-Record. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Into the SUV with what little you could snatch away from the mouth of the fire heading east to Iowa to stay with Aunt Molly. On interstate 29 a twister is about to touch down. Whoosh! You swerve out of the way just in time.

Parkersburg Tornado. Photo AP. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Aunt Molly’s house in Cedar Rapids wasn’t so lucky. It didn’t have wheels to drive away and avoid the floodwater; it is completely deluged.

An aerial photo shows a flooded area of downtown looking North over Cedar Rapids, Iowa June 13, 2008. Interstate I-380 can be seen at top while Mays Island, with Cedar Rapids City Hall, is seen on the left with its bridges under water. Floodwaters have inundated about 100 city blocks of Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s second-largest city with 200,000 residents. REUTERS/Ron Mayland. Photo AP. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Five hours and a dozen phonecalls later, you are finally heading to the calm of Wisconsin to stay with Cousin Thelma and her family. Turn the radio on. Homes on Lake Delton in central Wisconsin have been ripped apart by deadly storm and washed away by floodwaters. Chilly gooseflesh grow on your forearms. Something tingles deep inside your gut, that uncomfortable feeling something is wrong. And you are right! Well, It’s Friday the 13th, you hear yourself murmuring.

Lake Delton is a popular tourist spot south of the Wisconsin Dells. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Distant Cousin Joe and his family are in deep mourning in Loveland. Two of their kids with four of their classmates and a teacher didn’t make it back from a fishing trip. And his 5,000 acre cornfield is submerged in floodwater …

Corn crop submerged in floodwaters near Loveland, Iowa, June 12, 2008. REUTERS/Dave Kaup. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Back to Iowa to stay with an old classmate who lives in Marshal Town, Iowa, and who invited you to visit her last summer. A rain check is as good as … a rain check! Finally you arrive in Marshal Town. But the whole town has been evacuated and the power plants have been shut down!

Well, at least you have the good old, reliable SUV, and it’s not as if the world is running out of corn to make ethanol for you!

Related Links:

• Failing Ecosystems
• The Root Cause Matrix
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

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