January’s flooding was serious in southern Thailand, over 90 people died and thousands of families were displaced.  It’s taking several more weeks after the high waters for some Trang residents to get back into their homes. In the low-lying areas around town quite a few are still using small watercraft or wading to get home.  This is a small percentage of the residents, but high waters still have hundreds in temporary homes along the high ground and highways.

The water has receded 8 or 9 feet around Ban Wassana, our Trang home, so we haven’t been inconvenienced in the slightest, except for the wet season that’s been lingering.

Many of these homes are out in the agricultural fields and orchards around Trang.  It’s not uncommon to see a Palm Oil plantation totally flooded and trees not looking like they’ll survive.  In back of Wassana the island that was planted with banana trees appears to have about 80% loss.

This is the local version of a FEMA housing trailer, typically an “events tent” staked to the roadside with a 500-liter water tank and a port-a-potty just up the shoulder.  A few metal and wood folding tables are provided which function as beds with the quilts you bring from home.  Evacuees float their possessions to the highway and live on the shoulder and out in the traffic lane, where they cook, wash and sleep until they can get back home.