FLOODS were swamping Patong again this afternoon with motorcyclists forced to walk through water outside Simon Cabaret and on the main road behind Jungceylon - with four more days of rain forecast. Andaman provinces have been warned of possible landslips.


PHUKET: Forecasters could no longer accurately predict which parts of Phuket would flood, especially in Patong, the region's chief meteorologist said today.

Mata Aremean, Director of the the Phuket-based Southern Meteorological Centre (West Coast), said that bad planning, overconstruction and covering or filling in canals had made Patong flood-prone.

''Once, it would take a couple of hundred millimetres or rain to cause a flood,'' Khun Mata said. ''These days, it happens with just 50mm.

''If you want a floods forecast for Patong, the best person to ask is the Patong mayor,'' he said.

Patong suffered floods today, along with Chao Fa Road East and Chao Fa Road West, two of Phuket's main traffic arteries.

But Khun Mata said that the rain was not the cause of the flooding. ''Rain falls on 18 or 20 days a month at this time of the year,'' he said. ''So people can expect more flooding.''

His comments came as the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department issued a severe weather warning for people on Phuket and in nine other Southern provinces.

People living near hillsides and waterways in Phuket, Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang, Satun, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung should brace for heavy rain, possible flash flooding, forest run-off and mudslides over the next four days, says Chatchai Promlert, the department's director general.

Strong winds and high waves on the Andaman Sea meant all shipping should proceed with caution and small boats should remain ashore, he said.