Hospitals in Nan ready to evacuate patients if flooding worsens

All hospitals in Nan province are still operational, though access to some of them is being hampered by flooding. They are prepared to evacuate more than 800 patients to nearby provinces, with the help of the military, if flooding worsens, Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said today.

He said he has instructed all hospitals in 49 provinces affected by Tropical Storm Wipha, which has weakened to a depression, especially Nan, Chiang Rai and Phayao, to monitor the water situation closely and to take necessary steps if the situation worsens.

In Thoeng district of Chiang Rai, the Ngao River is rising rapidly and the currents are strong after more than three days of heavy rainfall. Runoffs from the river into the Lao and Mae Ing rivers have inundated farmland in Tab Tao sub-district.

In Nan province, the Nan River water has risen higher than the 7-metre critical level at the N1 station, in front of the provincial forest office, and residents have been advised to prepare for evacuation.

In Phayao province, the Pong district is mostly under water after heavy rainfall last night.

Ekcharin Kammapan, a village headman, said that villagers moved their valuable belongings to high ground and parked their cars in safe places last night.

He admitted that the flooding is serious and may get worse.