CHIANG MAI — After heavy rains since the beginning of October, new floods have occurred in the northern region, including in Chiang Mai city and its outskirts. The Ping River level has been rising continuously and broke historical records on Saturday.

The Ping River level at Nawarat Bridge was measured at 5.28 meters at 8:00 a.m. on October 5. Prior to this, villagers had received warnings and evacuated to higher ground.

However, the area severely affected was The Elephant Nature Park, which is a care center for elephants and other animals in Mae Taeng District. The evacuation of more than 3,000 animals, including 117 out of 126 elephants initially on October 3, was not sufficient. This was due to flash floods that submerged the higher ground areas and completely inundated Kued Chang village, causing 30 elephants to go missing on October 4.

Government officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the military, as well as volunteers and mahouts from other elephant camps, mobilized to help. However, they faced obstacles from rising floodwaters, weather conditions, and difficulties in moving equipment, which made the rescue efforts challenging.

On the morning of October 5, mahouts from The Elephant Nature Park found the carcass of “Pang Fah Sai,” aged 16, for which the center had posted a search notice. The body was caught against a large fallen tree branch near Sib Saan Resort and Spa in Mae Taeng, 5 km away from the center. She had been swept away by the Mae Taeng River.

The elephant that died earlier is “Pang Ploy Thong”, aged 40, who was blind and couldn’t keep up with the others escaping from the flood. Her carcass was found stuck among broken wood debris, also near Sib Saan Resort and Spa.

Meanwhile, the elephant in the news photo reported to have died is actually a blind elephant named “Pang Mae Boon”, which officials have successfully rescued.

The Chiang Mai Provincial Defense Office reported that the news image of an elephant found floating near the riverbank of Mae Taeng Elephant Camp, which was shared on social media, is actually a blind elephant named “Pang Mae Boon”. Officials successfully rescued her from the water at 7 p.m. yesterday. She did not die and has been taken to a safe place. This elephant also belongs to the Elephant Nature Center.

Currently, there are reports that several elephants swept away by the current are still missing, especially about 10 male elephants known to be aggressive and not chained. Officials from the Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang Province, along with other relevant authorities, are urgently searching for them.

A Royal Air Force helicopter has on Saturday spotted what they believe to be three of  them by using an infrared camera. They are pinning its location, about a kilometer from flood affected Elephant Nature Park in Mae Taeng district of Chiang Mai province, and are dispatching mahouts to locate and rescue them.

Saengduean Chailert, the director of Elephant Nature Park in Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai, and president of the Save Elephant Foundation, said she was heartbroken to hear that at least two elephants had drowned the night before.

She hugged and cried to bid farewell to Pang Fah Sai and Pang Ploy Thong at the scene where their bodies were found near Sib Saan Resort and Spa on Saturday.

She remarked that when they received a flood warning, the team had moved the elephants from low-lying areas to higher ground. However, who could have imagined that even the higher ground wouldn’t be safe as the flood waters reached the mountains, submerging almost the entire Kued Chang village.

The elephants that they let sleep at night were not chained but had sleeping areas enclosed by fences. However, the water rose three meters high, above the fences of the sleeping areas, nearly reaching the roofs. In some sleeping areas, the strong current swept several elephants out of their enclosures right before their eyes.

Currently, many elephants are still missing. A large number of cattle and buffalo are also missing. All dogs and cats are safe, but they were moved and released to higher ground without enclosures.

Heavy seasonal monsoon rains and the effects of Typhoon Yagi combined to cause serious flooding in many parts of Thailand, with the northern region particularly badly hit.

An earlier study entitled “Urbanization and Regional Expansion” by the Northern Office of the Bank of Thailand and the Faculty of Economics at Chiang Mai College has shown that urban expansion has become a significant factor contributing to flooding in northern Thailand. 

The primary causes include land use changes for agriculture, community expansion, and increasingly severe forest fires. As forest areas shrink, so does the region’s water absorption capacity, significantly contributing to flash floods.

Moreover, unplanned urban expansion without proper city planning has disrupted drainage systems, exacerbating the severity of floods.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reveals on Saturday that 49 people have died due to flooding between August 16 and October 5. Twenty provinces are still affected by flood.

____

Related stories:

Flash Floods Hit Chiang Mai Elephant Nature Park, Intense Rescue Ongoing