Hua Hin villages declared disaster zone

[turok]

Eight villages in Hua Hin have been declared a disaster zone after temperatures hit 10C, chilling residents who live without electricity.

Full Story

http://www.bangkokpost.com/151208_News/ ... news04.php

Any permanent residents care to confirm this? Do I need to re-think my packing requirements and include the fur-lined speedo's?

[buksida]

Here is the full article as post archives won't be available in a couple of days:

Eight villages in Hua Hin have been declared a disaster zone after temperatures hit 10C, chilling residents who live without electricity.

Hua Hin district chief Prasit Bunlikit made the declaration as more than 200 families in the villages grappled with the cold.

The villages are in tambon Bueng Nakhon, located deep in a mountain, about 70 kilometres from downtown Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Temperatures as low as 13 and 14 degrees are normal, but this year the mercury has dropped further to 10 degrees, especially at night, according to Mr Prasit.

Residents want electricity to keep themselves warm in the cold season, but the area has been without supply since the government of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat more than 40 years ago. The area is regarded as a "military safety area," so electricity is not allowed, said Mr Prasit.

District staff and a charity group are distributing coats, blankets, and relief supplies to needy people. They have been hampered by poor transport links to the area. Immediate help was needed for villagers, especially elderly and children who had come down with breathing problems, he said.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry has launched a campaign against diarrhoea which has claimed the lives of 42 people, most of them aged under five since early this year, and continues to threaten people in the cold season. The campaign, which will run until summer next year, tells people to keep away from food that is not properly cooked, a main cause of the illness.

In Loei, the Ratchaprachanukroh Foundation under His Majesty the King gave blankets to poor people in Tha Li and Chiang Khan, which are among 14 districts already declared disaster zones due to the cold. In Phichit, officials gave blankets and medicine to residents from 19 villages of Sam Ngam district.

The Meteorology Department expects temperatures will drop by another 2-4 degrees as a new high pressure zone arrives from China.

[STEVE G]

The area is regarded as a "military safety area," so electricity is not allowed, said Mr Prasit.

That statement has left me struggling to find any logic behind it.
Perhaps it's to stop any potential invaders from being able to charge their mobile phones.

[elem]

It has been unusually cold during the past week, a sweater can come in handy in the evenings...brr

[Spitfire]

I have to agree with STEVE G there, doesn't make a whole lot of sense that bit of the statement. My thought was "Well, obviously!"

Maybe just misdirection from the pertinacious local officials.

[Chas]

My first reaction was to question just how primitive these people must be to never have heard of fire. They live in a forest and they can't find enough wood to build a fire to keep themselves warm? (I don't know how many times I have been camping in a canvas tent and finding frost on the ground when I woke up in the morning . . .and on occasion a dusting of snow. It is, after all only cold at night. My guess is that the cold is an excuse to get electricity for TV and for lights at night. .not a bad thing certainly. And breathing problems from cold?

[STEVE G]

I’ve been up in Issan at this time of year and everybody is sat around fires, campsite fashion.
In fact last year they were selling fleece jackets in the local market which I thought amusing as I was quite comfortable in a tee-shirt.
Maybe in this military area they are not allowed to have fires for the same reason they can’t have electricity!

[margaretcarnes]

First reaction was 'just got out in time'!
Seriously though - I thought all villages had at least a lekky supply for the obligatory coke fridge? Didn't Coke in fact provide electricity in the first place to villages in order to promote their product?
Theres no wonder the people need advice on food safety if they can't even keep food chilled during daytime and hot season. All sounds very strange.

[hhfarang]

I have family in the two places mentioned up north in Loei province (Tha Li and Chiang Khan), and temps get below zero during some nights in the winter. From sundown until bed time they build a fire in the yard and sit around it to keep warm. After that they go to bed and wrap up in blankets.

They do have electricity, but of course no one has heaters in their homes.

I love to go up there when it's cold to get away from the constant heat that is usually Thailand. We went last month for Loy Kratong and it was very cold at night and cool during the day and I loved it!

[sandman67]

eeerrrmmmmm

windmills work well on hills and mountains.....generate leccy......

solar panels....more expensive....why dont the sodding Army pay for some....or even windmills......

between the lines this sounds like the Army dont want them there and are making like awkward till they move on.....

[Spitfire]

Well SM67, if they(Army) don't want them there and want them off, then the question would be "Why?"

Does anything important 'crack-off' around there or any installations etc close?

Where's Jockey when you need him, surely you can dig something up for us? What are they planning?

[sandman67]

Spitfire

my guess would be that the military just decided that and like the dumb donkeys they are now wont change their minds....as to why they would want them gone thats simple...."Its ours so shove off" seems to be the case where applications to utilise any "unused" military land in Thailand are mooted, even by the government.

Hua Hin is surrounded by these massive bases, mainly because the palace is here.......but what the hell they are doing there is beyond me.....massive swathes of either forested or scrubby waste.....should be used for agriculture in my book. Ever seen any jets or helicopters? I havent. So what goes on at the airbase? Som Tam eating and chang drinking? Thats my guess......

Theres also the problem of a complete lack of accountability here.....so thats why they get away with their pathetic excuses like its a special military area......look at last years proposed purchase of a sub by the Navy.....why? Why do you need one? Squid fishing?

overpowered and unaccountable idiots one and all.

[hhfarang]

Sandman,

I live just south of town in the Soi 116 area and I've seen military helicopters fly over several times in the last couple of months and I frequently hear a lot of automatic gunfire (like training exercises) coming from the southwest hills.

[Spitfire]

SM67,

I heard jokingly that they didn't buy that sub because the Gulf of Thailand's not really deep enough for them and you can see them from the air in a fair few places.

Don't even mention the aircraft carrier that doesn't move.

[STEVE G]

Don't even mention the aircraft carrier that doesn't move.

And the nine ex-Spanish navy AV-8 Harrier Matador variants that were supposed to fly off it, but don’t have any serviceable engines.