400,000 HIT BY FLOODS CAUSED BY KETSANA

       Almost 400,000 people in 16 provinces were affected by flooding and torrential rain caused by the storm Ketsana, according to a public safety report released yesterday.
       In addition to one death reported at an unknown location, there had also been an outbreak of "pink eye" among about 50 residents out of some 300 households in Kalasin's Muang district. The disease had also spread to cattle.
       But village head Praphas Phoowongkot said the 'pink eye' had been contained after an inspection by public health officials, who gave medication to those affected. Children were being kept away from adults to reduce the risk of the disease spreading.
       A report released by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said 394,752 people in 105,155 households in 87 districts in 16 provinces had been hit by flooding. Some 103 homes, 574 roads, 22 bridges and 133,253 rai of farmland had been damaged.
       The situation has returned to normal in five provinces: Ranong, Nakhon Sawan, Lop Buri, Loei and Phetchabun.
       The latest province hit by Ketsana was Kalasin, with 19,462 rai of farmland and 1,032 roads inundated, provincial governor Wiroj Jiwarangsan said.
       Water levels at Lam Patao Dam and 18 other reservoirs were at about 90 per cent capacity but still safe, he said, adding that flooding should subside within two weeks if there was no more heavy rain.
       In Tak, survival kits were being readied for 7,000 people in 13 villages in Mae Ramat district, after a bridge that links them to the outside world was cut by a flood. People could manage on existing supplies for another two days, district chief Phoomichai Taphankaew said.
       A makeshift suspension bridge was being built to give temporary access or to evacuate people if their situation got worse, he said.