Huge thunderstorm leaves trail of death & destruction across two provinces, destroying homes, crop fields, trees, killing many animals & one human.
Huge thunderstorm leaves trail of death & destruction across two provinces, destroying homes, crop fields, trees, killing many animals & one human.
Huge thunderstorm in Nan & Phrae leaves trail of death & destruction, homes, crop fields, trees, destroyed, leaving many animals & one human dead.

In the northern Thai provinces of Nan and Phrae, summer thunderstorms struck with lightning strikes that killed one person and several animals on Monday night.

An elderly woman, Singha Prachuap, 60, was found dead in her orchard in Den Chai or Phrae.

She had taken refuge in a small shelter that collapsed on top of her during the storm.

Twenty-two cows and pigs died from lightning strikes and hundreds of homes were damaged.

Dead cows

In Nan, at Nithakorn farm in tambon Muang Chang, a total of 18 cows were killed when lightning hit their pen in Phu Phiang district.

Farmer Padung Phetdin, 53, said the storm cost him more than 500,000 baht.

Dead pigs

Four pigs lie dead and seven others injured after their pen was hit by lightning on Monday night.
© Rarinthorn PetcharoenFour pigs lie dead and seven others injured after their pen was hit by lightning on Monday night.
Lightning bolts also struck a pig farm in nearby tambon Nanao in the same district, killing four pigs and injuring several others.

Thoon Nusupa, 66, headman (kamnan) of tambon Thanao and owner of the pig farm, said the thunderstorm brought heavy rain and hit the district while he was feeding his pigs.

Lightning struck the big trees behind the pig pens at least 10 times.

After rain stopped, he surveyed the damage to his farm .

Four pigs were dead and seven others were in convulsions.

Damage in Phrae

In Phrae, Soldiers sent to survey the storm damage at seven villages in Den Chai and Wang Chin districts reported 514 houses in Den Chai district were damaged.

In Wang Chin district, 89 houses and a school were damaged, with many roofs blown away by the storms.

Many trees were reported to have been toppled along about 5 kilometres of a road in Den Chai district.

There were widespread blackouts in several villages in the district starting about 8pm on Monday.

Several pigs were also clearly in pain, the sub-district (tambon) chief said.

Pundit Witthayan, chairman of Thanao tambon administration organisation.

Mr Thoon's pig farm was the largest in the community, with more than 600 pigs, said Pundit Witthayan, chairman of Thano tambon administration organisation (TAO).

Lightning strikes killed and injured animals in three pens at the farm, said Mr Pundit.

A storm also caused damage to 54 houses and 14 crop fields in Chiang Klang district.