BANGKOK — At least 50 people, if not more, are still stranded due to flash floods since Tuesday, as of 10 a.m. September 11 in Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai province, said Pacharapol Prakam, an assistant public relations officer at Mae Sai Municipality Office in Chiang Rai province on the phone Wednesday morning.
Pacharapol told Khaosod English there is not enough help to rescue people at present although one day has passed since the flash flood began at around 8 a.m. yesterday.
“There’s not enough help coming. Not enough soldiers deployed,” he said, adding he saw no rescue helicopter so far although it could make a difference as many are trapped on the roof of their homes and buildings.
“The water arrived so quickly and a dyke [on Mae Sai river bank] bursted.” The 34-year-old man said that he and others monitor warnings from local and national offices of the Meteorological Department and relay warnings to local residents via village headmen but some locals are simply stubborn and won’t move their vehicles or evacuate.
Pacharapol also admitted the technical language used by the Meteorological Department lacks the simplicity and accuracy and could be easily grasped by locals and laymen as well.
Asked if there’s any equivalent of a red, yellow and green flag warning potential swimmers at the sea, or a Number designating the severity of typhoons as in Typhoon Number 1, 2 or 3 in the Philippines, and he said there’s none.
“If there is a colour-code [for warnings issued by the Department] it would be great. Since it’s not clear, locals were complacent,” he added.
Post flood, he hopes the authority will spend more money to build a proper dyke and not a flimsy one, that could really withstand the force of nature and also build reservoirs and irrigation channels to divert excess water away.
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