Church volunteers race to clear mud in wake of northern Thailand

By Chainarong Monthienvichienchai – Thailand, LiCAS News

In northern Thailand, the bishop of Chiang Rai and his parishioners, along with hundreds of hill tribe volunteers, are racing against time to clear thick mud left by a flash flood.

The floods that recently hit the region have subsided, but their aftermath poses significant challenges.

“We have to do it quickly before the mud dries, which would make cleaning up much more difficult,” Bishop Joseph Vuthilert Haelom said in an interview with LiCAS News.

In some areas, floodwaters were neck-deep, but have now left a thirty-centimeter layer of mud across the entire city. All available fire trucks from Chiang Rai and neighboring Chiang Mai are working to clear the mud from the streets.

In some neighborhoods, residents are appealing for help to clear more than a meter of mud from their homes.

Bishop Haelom expressed concern about the extensive damage caused to local schools by the flash flood and overflowing river.

“We still don’t know how many days it will take before we can reopen the school, which is very damaged,” he said.

Meanwhile, heavy rains have also caused widespread flooding in the diocese of Udon Thani in northeastern Thailand.

The region, particularly along the Mekong, is submerged under two metres of water in some places.

Heavy rains from Typhoon Yagi have caused widespread damage and deaths across Southeast Asia, affecting countries from the Philippines to Myanmar.

Northern and northeastern Thailand have been particularly hard hit, with this year’s floods among the worst in memory.

Despite the floods, the annual parish festival in Nong Khai province went ahead as planned last weekend.

The church, submerged by the overflowing Mekong, hosted a mass attended by Bishop Joseph Luechai Thatwisai of Udon Thani, who arrived by boat.

Priests also braved flood waters to concelebrate Holy Mass in the flooded church.

Thai authorities on Friday raised the death toll from recent flooding to 10, as Tropical Storm Yagi devastated more than 73,000 families, mostly in northern Thailand.

The floods have affected 27 provinces, with Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, popular tourist destinations, being the worst hit. However, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has assured that major tourist areas have not been affected.

In Chiang Rai, severe flooding was reported, considered the worst in decades. At least four people were killed, two injured and 43,329 families were affected.

In Chiang Mai, a popular city for Catholic conferences in Asia, six people were killed, three injured and 14,216 families affected, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

Other provinces affected by flooding include Sukhothai, Phitsanulok and Phetchabun, while parts of Ang Thong and Ayutthaya were submerged due to the overflowing Chao Phraya River.