Chiang Rai hit by flash floods and runoff after overnight rain.
Large volumes of rainwater flowed rapidly from surrounding mountains into low-lying areas, causing sudden surges in water levels and widespread inundation. Residents were forced to urgently evacuate and move belongings to higher ground. In many areas, floodwaters reached waist height, with powerful currents damaging property and sweeping away possessions.
Agricultural land — including orchards and farmland that provide livelihoods for local communities — has been severely affected, with vast areas submerged under water.
In response to the emergency, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), in coordination with mobile network providers AIS, True, and NT, issued emergency alerts via cell broadcast warning of potential flash floods and runoff in Mae Pao and Tat Khwan subdistricts in Phaya Mengrai.
Residents in flood-prone areas were urged to relocate valuables and assist vulnerable groups, including the elderly and bedridden patients, while closely monitoring official updates from local authorities.
Emergency assistance can be requested via the Line app at Line ID @1784DDPM or by contacting the 24-hour disaster hotline 1784.
Also with the money that has come from high value crops, villages that used to be very hard to access and consist of people walking and using motorbikes on dirt tracks have changed to large tarmac roads with pickup trucks relaying back and forth to the city with produce multiple times per day, making it easier to access remote areas to further destroy the forests and accelerate the process. It's been sad to see, it used to be my favourite part of the country, now so much of what I loved about the area - it's untouched natural beauty and diverse rainforest wildlife are largely gone. And I see no effort to try and fix the source of the problem, so it's likely to continue to get worse.
It is, of course, being dishonestly used to highlight how 'man made climate change' caused by carbon dioxide burning is a real and present danger...