Thailand Flooding Impacts Nearly One Million: 50 inches of rain fall in one week, normal monthly average is 1-3 inches

Thailand Flooding Impacts Nearly One Million

by Eric Leister, Meteorologist, Accuweather.com, April 1, 2011

Residents wade through floodwaters in Nakorn Sithamarat province, southern Thailand Friday, April 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Sumeth Parnpetch)

In what should be one of the hottest, driest times of the year, rainfall totals of more than 50 inches within little more than a week have left swaths of southern Thailand under water. Nearly 1 million people have now been impacted by the recent flooding.

At least 25 people have been killed in the flooding according to reports Friday. The flooding is responsible for several mudslides, as well as damage to thousands of roadways and hundreds of homes.

Residents and tourists were stranded, as ferries and flights had to be canceled.

The Thai military was involved in rescues. They also helped to search for victims of a deadly mudslide that struck the province of Krabi.

The nation's only aircraft carrier, the HTMS Chakri Naruebet, reportedly ferried 734 holiday-makers to the mainland after their rescue from the resort islands of Ko Tao and Ko Phangan.

The island of Ko Samui, a tourist hot spot, saw major disruption to transportation infrastructure, leaving more than 10,000 temporarily stranded.
Australian media said that more than 200 of its nation's citizens were stranded by the flooding and mudslides, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The badly affected location is on the Malay Peninsula, where 11 provinces of Thailand and an area within neighboring Malaysia suffered flooding rain and thunderstorms beginning at the middle of last week. In Thailand, disaster area declarations applied to at least eight southern provinces, according to government authorities.

Data accessed by AccuWeather.com shows that rainfall since the middle of last week was more than 50 inches at Nakhon Si Thammarat, and nearly 44 inches on the island of Ko Samui. As much as 16 inches fell in the wettest 24 hours on Ko Samui.
 
Daytime temperatures in much of the area have held in the "chilly" 70s this week.

Normal monthly rainfall in the flooded areas is only about 1-3 inches, and daytime temperatures are often in the lower to middle 90s.

Although the flooding threat is ongoing, the impacts are already being seen on agriculture and shipping across Thailand. More than 275,000 acres of farmland have been affected by the recent floodwaters, which will likely have a lasting impact on the nation's agricultural production.

Reports indicate that as much as 10% of the nation's shrimp production has been damaged, as shrimp farms have been inundated by floods. Much of Thailand's shrimp export is sent to the United States, which could result in increased prices for American consumers.

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