BANGKOK -- Flash floods on Monday inundated several areas of the island of Phuket in Thailand , one of the country's major tourist destinations, following heavy rainfall overnight, officials said. All three districts of the southern island province, including its capital, Phuket City, were impacted by the flooding. Water levels started to recede by late morning, but some lower-lying areas remained flooded and small vehicles were advised to avoid those areas, according to the provincial deputy governor, Romdon Hayiawae.
He said some parts of the province were also hit with mudslides and officials were working to clear the debris to prevent it from falling into canals and obstructing waterways. Photos and videos shared on social media show floodwaters flowing into residential areas and filling up several roads, making them impassable. Vehicles are seen partially buried in piles of mud and rocks left behind by the flooding. Popular Reads Amy Acton says Trump, Vance should 'look at the facts' after Ramaswamy attack ad 9 hours ago Many feared trapped as a tall building collapses in Kenya Oct 23 Airman killed rappelling from Alamodome's ceiling in Salute to Armed Forces ceremony Oct 19 About 100 households were affected.
There were no reports of casualties, Romdon said. The Thai Meteorological Department warned of heavy and continuous rain in the southern region until Wednesday, which could trigger more flash floods and landslides. Flooding has battered many parts of Thailand since mid-September and at least 83 people were reported killed as of Monday, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. The Thai capital of Bangkok was inundated in late September after days of torrential rain, forcing thousands to evacuate and causing severe disruptions.
The AP report sets out the Phuket flash floods, the mudslides, the forecast of more heavy rain and a season of flooding that has killed at least 83 people in Thailand. It never tells the reader that warming makes heavy rainfall like this more frequent and more intense, so the floods read as weather with no wider cause.
Leaves out the climate link
Serious
“following heavy rainfall overnight”
Why this matters
The words "following heavy rainfall overnight" give the overnight downpour as the whole cause of the floods, and no sentence anywhere in the article adds that warming loads the dice for rain like this.
The impression it gives
A reader comes away thinking the Phuket floods were a chance weather event with nothing behind them.
The context
Human-caused warming has made heavy rainfall more frequent and more intense. The article never mentions climate change or warming at all.
How we know
On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “climate” and “warming”.
“Flooding has battered many parts of Thailand since mid-September and at least 83 people were reported killed as of Monday”
Why this matters
This sentence reports more than a month of nationwide flooding and at least 83 deaths. It treats them as a run of bad weather and gives no word on the warming that makes such rainfall worse.
The impression it gives
A reader takes a deadly season of floods across Thailand as routine monsoon weather that has no connection to a warming climate.
The context
Warming has made heavy rainfall more frequent and more severe. A single line saying so would give the reader the missing cause behind a season that has already killed dozens of people.
How we know
On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “warming”.
Flash floods on Monday inundated several areas of Phuket after heavy rainfall overnight, officials said. Climate change is making heavy downpours like this more frequent and more intense.