Phuket Under Mass of Mud. Avalanche Hits Tourist District

The incident took place on Friday morning, Phuket – the largest city on the island of the same name. After many hours of heavy rain, there was flash flood and landslide near the Kata Temple, in the Mueang district. Mudslide hit the part of the city where there are many hotels and apartments for rent, where people often stay.

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It died at least five peoplealthough according to Thai media, the number of victims could have risen to nine. Local police chief Khundech Na Nongkhai told AFP that among those killed were a couple of tourists from Russiawho were on vacation on the island. The details of the remaining victims are being determined.

– Downpour that started at 2:00 a.m. [lokalnego czasu – red.] at night it caused landslidewhich damaged houses. The people inside were surprised [przez lawinę] – said Khundech.

Rescue operations are still ongoing at the scene. soldiers, policemen i volunteers. However, the work of rescuers is hampered by the heavy rain that continues to fall.

The rescue operation is coordinated by representatives of the Ministry of Interior from the Department of Prevention and Mitigation of the Consequences of Natural Disasters (DDPM).

Since last week Thailand is struggling with monsoon rains, which are hitting the southern part of the country particularly hard. Because of flood Since the beginning of the month, five people have died and 32 have been injured, according to data from the Thai Ministry of Health.

Currently ongoing rainy seasonso heavy rains in this part of the world are not uncommon. However, due to the ongoing global warming, weather phenomena are becoming increasingly violent.

Source: AFP, Disaster.go.th, Amarintv.com

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