donald1
March 31st, 2011, 06:10
AAP and Reuters March 31, 2011, 8:51 am
Australians are among those affected by floods that have swept across southern Thailand, killing at least 15 people and stranding about 15,000 tourists.
Rising waters have choked off road, rail and air links while islands in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea have been left isolated after ferry services were cancelled.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says ferry services to the islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao - very popular with Australian tourists - are among those suspended.
"The Australian embassy in Bangkok is in contact with a number of Australians affected by disruptions to transport and has offered consular assistance," a DFAT spokesperson said.
The Thai navy evacuated about 1,200 people from Koh Samui and Koh Tao, a remote island popular with backpackers.
Thailand's navy sent four vessels including an amphibious landing craft with on-board helicopters to deliver supplies and rescue tourists and villagers in areas severely hit.
"More rain is expected in the next few days," Satit Wongnongtoey, a minister in the prime minister's office, told Reuters.
British ambassador Asif Ahmad said Britain was in close contact with the Thai navy on the evacuation of tourists from the region.
The flooding could delay shipments of between 1,000 and 1,500 tonnes of smoked rubber sheet, industry officials said. The region supplies 90 percent of the 3.2 million tonnes produced annually in Thailand, the world's biggest producer and exporter.
"Small producers along the upper south, who need to carry rubber by road to be shipped from Bangkok's port are facing disruption as roads are cut off," Prapas Uernontat, secretary general of the Thai Rubber Association, told Reuters.
Nearly a million people have been affected by unseasonably heavy downpours across the region.
Mudslides were reported in three areas in Krabi province. At least 10 people were killed in one village, with at least 10 others missing.
Wiboon Sangruanpong, director-general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said it was too soon to assess full damage and said more mudslides were possible.
Along with the airport on Koh Samui, the Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani airports have also been shut.
Australians are among those affected by floods that have swept across southern Thailand, killing at least 15 people and stranding about 15,000 tourists.
Rising waters have choked off road, rail and air links while islands in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea have been left isolated after ferry services were cancelled.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says ferry services to the islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao - very popular with Australian tourists - are among those suspended.
"The Australian embassy in Bangkok is in contact with a number of Australians affected by disruptions to transport and has offered consular assistance," a DFAT spokesperson said.
The Thai navy evacuated about 1,200 people from Koh Samui and Koh Tao, a remote island popular with backpackers.
Thailand's navy sent four vessels including an amphibious landing craft with on-board helicopters to deliver supplies and rescue tourists and villagers in areas severely hit.
"More rain is expected in the next few days," Satit Wongnongtoey, a minister in the prime minister's office, told Reuters.
British ambassador Asif Ahmad said Britain was in close contact with the Thai navy on the evacuation of tourists from the region.
The flooding could delay shipments of between 1,000 and 1,500 tonnes of smoked rubber sheet, industry officials said. The region supplies 90 percent of the 3.2 million tonnes produced annually in Thailand, the world's biggest producer and exporter.
"Small producers along the upper south, who need to carry rubber by road to be shipped from Bangkok's port are facing disruption as roads are cut off," Prapas Uernontat, secretary general of the Thai Rubber Association, told Reuters.
Nearly a million people have been affected by unseasonably heavy downpours across the region.
Mudslides were reported in three areas in Krabi province. At least 10 people were killed in one village, with at least 10 others missing.
Wiboon Sangruanpong, director-general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said it was too soon to assess full damage and said more mudslides were possible.
Along with the airport on Koh Samui, the Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani airports have also been shut.