BANGKOK: -- Thailand's Meteorological Department warned local residents in eight northern and western provinces to brace for heavy downpours and possible flash floods due to tropical cyclone Mala, as it moves into Thailand from Myanmar.
At 7am Saturday the cyclone, with maximum wind speeds of 140 kph, was some 500 kilometres southwest of Thailand's northern province of Mae Hong Son.
Cyclone Mala was moving northeastward at 18 kph and was expected to make landfall on the Myanmar coast Saturday afternoon.
The department said flash floods are forecast in Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Tak, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Udon Thani, Kanchanaburi, and Ratchaburi.
Two to three-metre high waves are expected in the Andaman sea and the Gulf of Thailand.
Meteorological Department director general Suparerk Tansriratanawong warned that some districts in Chiang Mai will be hardest hit with heavy rainfall. However, he said, the mountaineous terrains in west Thailand will weaken the cyclone to reduce its impact Sunday.
However, residents in mountainous areas should be alert to heavy rain and the possibility of flash floods.
--TNA 2006-04-29
Cyclone Mala hits Myanmar, north and west Thailand
Cyclone Mala hits Myanmar, north and west Thailand
With A Name Like Bas, It Has To Be Good.