At the end of September, announcements went out throughout Northern Thailand warning that flooding was coming. There had been torrential rain across the northern provinces for weeks, the dams were about to overflow, the rivers would not be able to contain the water. And everyone in Chiang Mai braced themselves for the floods which came swiftly over the next 3 days. 

Water breached the banks of the river, flooding much of the city on both sides of the river. It rushed onto the streets and into homes of many people in the high risk areas of Chiang Mai, destroying vehicles, furniture and household items, causing people to flee. A week later, it came again. This time faster, stronger, and with more water. The devastation was more widespread than it had been in over 50 years. 2 hospitals flooded, along with the train station, the bus station, and thousands of homes.

Thai Village realized early on that we didn’t have the boats or the capacity to go into the alleys where houses were flooded. But when rescue workers set up camp in our parking lot we saw that the way to help the most was to support them. During the floods Thai Village providing electricity, toilets, showers, drinking water, and a place for rescue workers to rest as they worked all day/all night.

Aid workers prepared to respond to needs of community surrounding Thai Village

As the floods started to recede, the Thai Village team joined the many other organizations in Chiang Mai in going out to the community and helping with the clean up efforts. This included removing thick mud and destroyed furniture from homes, deep cleaning the homes, and providing relief supplies to those affected.

This flood pushed us to our limits as a team and as individuals at times. It has been an exhausting month with a lot of pain and desolation, but this flood also brought us together as a team, pushed us to show up with compassion, and helped us build bridges in the community. Amidst the pain, we saw many heartwarming situations. A notable moment was when elephants were sent out to deliver relief supplies in deeply flooded areas. Only in Thailand! We were honored to have a first row seat to witness the resilience and kindess of many Thai people throughout the city.

There is still a lot of clean up that has to happen across the city. Many people are without basic household items due to the destruction of their property. Thai Village continues to do our part, helping artisans and neighbors to get back on their feet with furniture and household item replacement. It’s humbling to see how widespread the devastation has been and knowing we can only do a small part – we ask you to pray with us that through this flood God’s love will shine bright; that flood victims will be comforted and come to know God who cares for them!

This is the link for those of you who would like to give toward relief efforts: https://thaivillage.org/donate-to-relief/  Thank you!