On May 25, reporters reported that residents and local business owners in the Saim Lom Joy community and market, Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai Province, came out this morning to clean their homes and shops after the Sai River overflowed its banks and flooded the area on the morning of May 24. The floodwaters have since receded, but significant amounts of mud and sand left behind by the flood remain in homes and shops, causing considerable property damage.
Mrs. Nongnuch Nasingkaew, a resident of the Saim Lom Joy community, stated that her community was severely affected by this flood. The area experienced high water levels and was buried in sticky mud and sand. She urged government agencies—district officials, municipality, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), or the provincial office—to provide urgent assistance with recovery efforts. She emphasized that this year alone, the community has already faced two floods, with the second one being particularly unexpected due to the speed and volume of water and mud. There was no early warning system, leaving residents unaware until massive volumes of water had already reached their homes, making it impossible to protect their belongings—especially since the incident occurred at night.
Mae Sai District Chief Mr. Warayut Khombun reported that the water level in the Sai River had steadily decreased by the morning, with smooth water flow preventing any further overflow. As a result, the area avoided additional flooding, despite heavy rainfall the previous night. The Thai-Myanmar border checkpoint, which had been closed to vehicles on May 24 due to flooding, was reopened for cross-border movement as normal.
Chiang Rai Governor Mr. Charin Thongsuk has ordered the establishment of an emergency command center in Mae Sai District to oversee all aspects of the situation, especially information and disaster alerts. He instructed that warnings must be issued immediately through all available channels, including mobile public address systems and community radio towers, regardless of the time of occurrence. Preventive measures must also be put in place to avoid repeat incidents.
Moving forward, the flood cleanup has been organized into zones: Zone A (Saim Lom Joy community) led by administrative volunteers; Zone B (Ko Sai community) by the 37th Military Circle; Zone C (Mai Lung Khon community) by the Tak Army Task Force; and Zone D (Muang Daeng community) by local authorities and village leaders.