Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in 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. 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 Independent runs an AP wire report on flash floods and mudslides in Phuket after heavy overnight rain. It sets this inside weeks of national flooding that has killed at least 83 people. It never says that warming makes heavy rainfall like this more frequent and more intense, so the reader is left to treat the floods as weather alone.
Leaves out the climate link
Serious
“following heavy rainfall overnight”
Why this matters
The words "following heavy rainfall overnight" give the only cause of the Phuket floods, and nothing anywhere in the article links that rain to a warming climate.
The impression it gives
A reader comes away thinking the overnight downpour was ordinary weather with nothing behind it.
The context
Human-caused warming has made heavy rainfall more frequent and more intense. The article has no word on 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 sets out more than a month of deadly flooding across Thailand, with at least 83 dead, plus the Bangkok inundation in the next line. It treats the run of disasters as a list of events with no wider cause.
The impression it gives
A reader learns that the floods are long and deadly but is given no reason to see them as part of a pattern that warming is making worse.
The context
Warming loads the dice towards the heavy and torrential rain the article describes. A single line saying so would have given the reader the cause behind the toll. The rest of the article, including "days of torrential rain" in Bangkok, never mentions it.
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)
Elsewhere in the article“after days of torrential rain”
Flash floods on Monday inundated several areas of Phuket after heavy overnight rain, officials said. Climate change is making heavy downpours like these more frequent and more intense.