Floods spread to 12 provinces
Households and businesses in the South have been hit hard by flooding while all train services heading to the lower part of the region suspended after tracks were damaged by floodwater. At least 12 provinces in the South have been affected by flooding which began last Thursday. The provinces are Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun, with tens of thousands of residents affected. According to authorities, at least 11 people have been killed in the flooding. The State Railway of Thailand announced on December 5 it has temporarily halted the operation of the new Thaksinarat Special Express Train No. 31/32, running from Bangkok to Hat Yai in Songkhla. The move came after several southern railway tracks subsided when the areas were submerged under floodwater, said SRT governor Wuthichart Kalyanamitra. Mr Wuthichart said trains on the southern line cannot go beyond Thung Song station and the SRT is providing buses from the station to take passengers to their destinations.
