Thai Muang District Officer Prapruet Youthanun named the dead man as Panya Kongnoy, 50. He said that local people had noticed Mr Prapuet’s house half-buried in mud and rushed over to see if Mr Prapuet was okay.
They managed to dig him out and got him to hospital, but he died there about three hours later.
Because of flooding the Governor of Phang Nga, Thamrong Charoenkul, has declared five districts of the province to be disaster zones: Amphur Muang, Thai Muang, Kapong, Takuapa and Takua Toong.
Thanakwan Pinthong, an officer with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) in Phang-Nga, told The Phuket News,“Of the five areas declared to be disaster zones, Thai Muang is by far the worst.”
Some roads are impassable because of flooding, he said, including Petchakasem Rd – the main north-south artery – between Thai Muang and Lumgan.
“Some bridges are down in Muang and Kapong districts, and some roads have been cut but now we have arranged with DDPMs of nearby provinces such as Trang and Phuket to send us boats to help carry out people stranded by the floods.”
Mr Prapruet added, “I think we have to wait for the rain to stop before the situation improves. Now we are trying to help local people by providing food.”