BANGKOK, March 19 (Reuters): Thai authorities on Sunday told the public to beware of falling debris or branches after hail storms hit the northern part of the country and hundreds of homes were damaged.
Footage on social media showed the impact of severe wind and hail in the northern province of Chiang Mai.
"Heavy rains and hail fell for nearly 20 minutes," said Chaichai Wongkam, whose home was damaged.
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has deployed one of its state-of-the-art fighter jets to help control the weather in Chiang Mai, reports The Nation Thailand.
Heavy rain, strong winds and hailstorms have been hitting the northern province for the past few days, knocking over power poles and signboards.
The RTAF announced on Sunday that the Alpha Jet was deployed from Wing 23 in Udon Thani to Chiang Mai’s Wing 41 three days ago to help control hailstorms in the province.
On Saturday, the Alpha Jet flew a successful sortie to attack cumulus clouds above Chiang Mai’s Samoeng district with silver iodide flares. It fired four rounds at 23,000 feet and 10 rounds at 30,000 feet.
The operation turned the pending hailstorm into heavy rain.
The RTAF said it had deployed the Alpha Jet for this operation because inexperienced pilots would have found dealing with the heavy clouds difficult.
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