On September 10, 2024, at Ban Tham Pha Chom village in Mae Sai Chiang Rai Province, was the first village to receive the floodwaters from Myanmar many homes were washed away and others were submerged in mountains of mud.
During the flood, the water level reached the second floor of the houses, flooding their homes with meter deep mud and destroying all belongings. Some homes along the Sai River were completely washed away by the heavy flowing flood waters.
Now the village of Ban Tham Pha Chom is a ghost town despite almost being back to normal.
The main road in the village have been cleared of mud, and most of the the houses were also finally mud free. Some homes along the Sai River were gone with only cement base structures remaining.
Local officials said water and electricity had been restored but the village still remained empty.
Ms. Phaksiriphat who has lived in the village her entire life took reporters to see her home, which was completely empty. She said she was still living at a relative’s house, and it would be difficult for her to return because she was unable to afford household items destroyed by flooding.
Everything cost too much money, she said.
When talking to other villagers of Tham Pha Chom, they said the same thing, they wanted to move home but they couldn’t afford to replace everything destroyed by flooding. They said they were thankful to receive 10,000 baht each from the government but the money barley covered their food costs for a month.
Meanwhile, Volunteer defence personnel and equipment continue to scoop up mud and clean homes for villagers in the Koh Sai, Mai Lung Khan, and Muang Daeng Mae Sai to restore the area to normal as soon as possible.
The Ministry of Interior has mobilized more than 1,500 volunteer defense corps nationwide, while the Ministry of Defense has mobilized soldiers from all units and machinery to the area to remove the mud as quickly as possible.
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