“Most of these schools are in the province’s educational service area 1,” Nakhon Si Thammarat Governor Charoen Tipayapongtada said yesterday.

All 23 districts in the province had been inundated, disrupting the lives of more than 261,000 people, he said. The floods were also blamed for five deaths in the province, while at least 12 people have been killed in the south.

In the worst-hit spots, floodwaters were more than two metres deep as of press time. Officials were using boats to send relief to affected people, many of whom are living on the second floor of flooded homes.

Meanwhile, railway officials have been arranging buses for train passengers who have been forced to switch their mode of transport because flooding damaged train lines.

Flooding in Nakhon Si Thammarat proved so serious that Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda, ministry permanent secretary Grisada Boonrach and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Chatchai Promlert headed to the province to facilitate relief and rescue operations.

In Trang province, hundreds of people in Muang Trang and Kantang districts fled to safety on Monday night after the Trang River overflowed. People have set up tents on higher ground designated as evacuation centres by local authorities.

Meanwhile, more than 30 schools in Trang closed yesterday because of the flooding.

Floodwaters swamped nine districts in Trang province yesterday, affecting about 50,000 people and ravaging more than 20,000 rai (3,200 hectares) of farmland.

The main provincial highway, Phetkasem Road, was also swamped in Trang with floodwaters 30 to 50 centimetres deep.

The initiative to increase well-managed forested areas in cities was proposed by a team of academics in a move to secure a better environment and livelihood of people in the city. They explained that forested land would not be in conflict with developed areas, and hoped that people would fall more in love with nature.

The project is supported by the Thailand Development Fund,

A leading member of the team, Prof Pracha Koonnathamdee from the Faculty of Economics at Thammasat University, said the term “urban forest” was new and unfamiliar to most people, as it was very different from the traditional definition of forest.

“Urban forest in our definition is used for well-managed green areas in the city that people who benefit from the forest are in charge of maintaining. To do this, they need a sustainable livelihood so they can pay for it,” Pracha said.

“So urban forests are different from other green spaces, such as public parks, which are maintained and funded by the government.”

The intention was to make people grow to love nature and understand that trees do not just offer physical and mental benefits but also improve the quality of life and beautify the city.

Niramon Sutummakid, also a lecturer from the Faculty of Economics at Thammasat University, said urban forests offer relaxation and fresh air.

“There is enough scientific evidence to prove that people close to nature have a better state of mind and are mentally healthy. Plus, the forest can be the city’s lung and absorb pollution,” Niramon said.

However, she said, since all city residents will benefit from the forest, they should all contribute, create and take care of the area.

“The challenge is to manage the area sustainably. We are now looking into several case studies and possibilities to raise funds for taking care of this forest and management methods for each forest can be different,” she added.

Pracha said that people only do things if they benefit financially. For instance, deforestation only took place because farmers or illegal loggers made money from cutting down trees. This could be reversed if people get financial benefits from saving trees, he said.

“If people can earn something by using the resources of the urban forest, this will make the reforestation process sustainable,” he suggested.

The URBAN Forest project team recently met at the Bangkok Folk Museum and promoted the venue as a good example of an urban forest.

Waraporn Suravadee, chairperson of the Insart-Sa-ang Foundation and former owner of the mansion housing the museum, said she backed the project as it was clear the lush surroundings of the museum provided her with a good living condition and health.

THAIS TURNED out in huge numbers across the country yesterday to commemorate the birthday of their late and much-loved monarch, HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The late king passed away peacefully at the age of 89 on October 13.

Still, his birthday on December 5 remained an important day in the hearts of the people. In every corner of Thailand from villages up to the national level, events were held in remembrance of the great monarch who had reigned for an remarkable 70 years.

His Majesty King Maha Vajialongkorn |yesterday presided over a royal merit-making ceremony at the Temple of Emerald Buddha to commemorate the passing of his father.

Later, the King proceeded to the Amarin Winitchai Hall to present ceremonial fans to monks who have been promoted to a higher rank.

Meanwhile, one of the largest events took place on Bhumibol Bridge 1, which links |Samut Prakan province to Bangkok.

Thousands of people walked along the bridge to attend this commemorative event to give offerings to 999 Buddhist monks and observed 89 seconds of silence together. The late monarch is the ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty. He is also widely known as King Rama IX.

Participants also sang royal music compositions and the Royal Anthem in honour of the late monarch.

During the event, they also released white and yellow balloons. Yellow is the colour associated with the birthday of the late king, a Monday.

The government joined hands with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Samut Prakan authorities in organising this event. Officials also handed out 50,000 commemorative pins, and 19,999 small packs of sacred soil from 77 provinces.

Postcards were available for people to write down a pledge to do good things in the footsteps of the late king.

Meanwhile, outside the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration headquarters, Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat and Bangkok Governor Pol General Aswin Kwanmuang led people in giving alms to monks in dedication to the late king.

Nearby, huge black-clad crowds crammed into Sanam Luang to queue up for an opportunity to enter the adjacent Grand Palace and lay prostrate before the late king’s body.

Expression of love

“I came back here again today because it’s his birthday,” Somjai Silprapsert, 50, said. Yesterday was the second time she paid her respects to the late monarch inside the Grand Palace’s Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall. Somjai decided to go again, despite the long queue and sweltering heat, because his birthday was always special to her.

While lines to get close to the late king’s body have always been lengthy, yesterday’s queue was especially long.

At the age of 72, Sanit Chaipanya travelled a long distance from Ubon Ratchathani province to Bangkok along with her family members in the hope of laying prostrate before the king.

But the long lines at Sanam Luang reminded her of her chronic health problems and she chose to lay prostrate before a portrait of the late monarch instead.

“I don’t want to be a burden to others. So, I express my loyalty to him in front of his portrait,” she said.

The expression of love for the late king was intense across Thailand, with various forms of activities.

At Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, students formed pictures in honour of the late king and joined the candlelit and signing ceremonies in his memory.

In Udon Thani province, people gathered to water and add fertiliser to plants over 50 rai plots of land in honour of the late king, who had sought to protect the country’s forestland throughout his reign.

FLOODS continued to ravaged the South, with stormy weather blamed for three more deaths in Surat Thani, which brought the total number of fatalities to 12 in five provinces.

Drowned in Surat Thani were six-year-old Nattapon Manachak, Amporn Chuprokaew, 64, and Supong Semapat, 41. Amporn and Supong died while going out to sea to catch fish.

Rough weather also sank the boat of Suthep Aebmanee, 55, who is missing.

The three other seriously hit provinces are Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang, and Phatthalung.

Late yesterday, heavy rain continued in most parts of Surat Thani. The province’s disaster prevention and mitigation office said floodwater has already spread over 17 districts, affecting more than 87,000 residents. In the hardest-hit spots, floodwater was up to one metre deep.

In a move to ease locals’ fears, relevant authorities have tried to assure them that the Ratchaprabha dam in Surat Thani will not release water. The dam is now 87 per cent full with 4,893 million cubic metres of water.

In Trang, more than 30,000 residents are struggling with floods in eight districts. The situation was so serious that relevant authorities declared six of these districts as disaster-hit zones.

A number of flood victims set up roadside tents after the deluge had swamped their homes.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, run-off water from mountainous areas hit low-lying areas. The Nakhon Si Thammarat Municipality was inundated.

The floodwater level was more than two metres deep in the worst-hit areas, and some houses were submerged to the roof.

Schools in the municipal zones announced that they will be closed till tomorrow.

In Phatthalung, railway lines in Khuan Khanun district were impas-sable due to flooding. Many train passengers were forced to switch to bus travel.

Army spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said soldiers were coordinating with various authorities in an effort to deliver help to flood victims.

Apart from the hard-hit provinces, Chumphon, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun provinces were also flooded in the South.

Meanwhile, the National Health Security Office (NHSO) is closely monitoring the situation out of concern patients suffering from chronic kidney failure might have problems accessing vital dialysis solutions.

“We have now arranged home deliveries and sought to ensure they have adequate supplies,” NHSO spokesman Atthaporn Limpanyalerd said.

ELEVEN people drowned, two others were injured and two people are missing due to flooding in the South over the past four days, Chatchai Promlert, director-general of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said yesterday.

He said the floods affected 157,580 families in 68 districts in the 10 southern provinces of Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Krabi, Trang, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat.

Chatchai said two had died in Surat Thani, three in Nakhon Si Thammarat, two in Songkhla, two in Phatthalung, and two in Pattani.

Meanwhile, Government Spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was monitoring the flooding situation in the South closely and the prime minister had ordered local government agencies to coordinate efforts to help flood victims with utmost efficiency.

For example, Sansern said, Prayut wanted the disaster mitigation centre of the Fourth Army Area to coordinate with the Southern Disaster Mitigation Centre of the Interior Ministry to work with provincial disaster mitigation centres to rush help to the people affected by floods. Sansern said the agencies were ordered to place fast-moving aid units on standby around the clock to help flood victims.

Also yesterday, Nakhon Si Thammarat Governor Chamroen Tipyapongthada reported the flood situation in his province, saying the flooding so far had affected 1,245 villages in 18 districts. Because of the ongoing flooding, four train routes to Trang and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces had to stop at Thung Song district in Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday instead of going to their destinations, an official of the State Railway of Thailand in Thung Song said.

Chaiya Katcharat, the SRT official, said SRT workers had yet to check the flooded tracks to see whether they had been damaged. Chaiya said the SRT provided buses to transport the passengers to their destinations.

In Surat Thani, Governor Uaychai Innak said the floods had affected 18,117 families in 421 villages in 14 districts.

In Songkhla province, the provincial disaster mitigation office reported that two five-year-old girls had drowned in the province because of floods that hit six districts – Muang, Hat Yai, Na Mom, Saba Yoi, Sadao and Ranot. The office said the flood situation had started to improve after rains stopped and the bloated rivers had subsided to normal levels.

In Trang, some 20,000 people in seven districts had been hit by floods, the provincial disaster mitigation office said. It added that the floods had damaged some 15,000 rai (2,400 hectares) of farmland in the districts of Rassada, Huay Yot, Wang Wise, Na Yong, Yan Ta Khao, Muang and Palian.

In Nayong, a mudslide blocked a main village road, prompting officials to use a bulldozer to clear it.

Also yesterday, troops from the Phraya Rassadanupradit fort handed out bags of food and other necessities to villagers in Moo 4 village in Tambon Lamphura in Huay Yot. Villagers had to wade through chest-high water to receive the help.