They believe that dereliction of duty by the officials caused deaths and property damage that could have been prevented.

Arkom Somwang, 41, and his wife lost their five-year-old daughter in the raging floodwaters that suddenly swept into Phetkasem Road in the province on January 9.

“The floodwaters quickly swamped the road, hurled the van they were riding in and swept away their daughter,” Nadthasiri Bergman, a legal officer at the Cross-Cultural Foundation, said yesterday.

She said that hundreds of families in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bang Saphan district watched as the floods swamped their homes.

“There had been no early warning beforehand, not even from community radio broadcasts. By the time we were told to brace for floods, the water was already so close. We didn’t have enough time,” resident Jintana Kaewkhao said.

She will join Arkom and other victims of the Prachuap Khiri Khan floods in requesting help from the Lawyers Council today.

“Not all flood-hit locals can go to the council because of travel expenses and some are worried that they may not receive compensation from the government if they start a lawsuit,” Jintana said.

After the floods hit, officials surveyed the damage in affected zones and registered flood victims. However, Jintana said help has still not arrived.

Jintana said she decided to sue the government agencies to set a precedent.

“Let’s be clear about who is responsible for issuing early warnings,” she said.

According to Nadthasiri, the Royal Irrigation Department has the duty to inform the public of a water situation but it failed to tell Prachuap Khiri Khan residents last month about imminent flooding.

The Prachuap Khiri Khan authority also failed to alert residents about threats in a timely manner, she said.