It started with a tropical storm in September:

Two weeks ago, we were helping residents of Chiang Rai and Wiang Pa Pao in the relief effort from their flooding in the wake of Tropical Storm Yagi. In Chiang Mai, that storm was limited to a lot of rain and some landslides in a few communities – which is normal for the rainy season in Thailand. Chiang Rai and then Wiang Pa Pao caught the worst of that storm. Our family went to Chiang Rai to help out however we could, cleaning, talking, and praying with people. The House of Love took up a collection of food and clothing from local churches and individuals and distributed them in Chiang Rai and Wiang Pa Pao.

Last week we were told that the floods which affected Chiang Rai would be coming through our area – and it resulted in the local dam going well past max capacity. At the same time, another smaller monsoon hit Chiang Mai. Our house is about a kilometer away from the river so after seeing what happened to Chiang Rai, we moved as much as we could upstairs or onto blocks/tables. There was a flood which equaled the 2011 flood and most residents refer to that flood as the worst flood in Chiang Mai ever. We brought our furniture back down and focused our efforts on helping people who live along the river.

This past Thursday night we were told to be ready for more floods because the third monsoon this month was hitting north of us and the dams were already at max capacity and releasing as much water as they could to get the reservoir levels lower. We brought our furniture back upstairs. There was a little flooding but it did not even hit our neighborhood. We went to help a few friends who had some water in their house. We brought our furniture back down Friday morning when the sun came out. We even had a friend’s son sleepover at our place and one of our kids was sleeping at his friend’s house.

Flash flooding hits Chiang Mai:

Friday afternoon we heard that it was going to flood again, we looked outside – not a cloud in the sky and sunny, how bad could it be? It had barely rained in Chiang Mai the past two days. We thought about some warnings from our friends in Chiang Rai and brought our furniture back upstairs again, we were getting good at this! When we went to bed a little before midnight the water had entered our yard and was maybe 2-3 inches deep in some spots, the street was maybe 6 inches max. We had sandbags around the doors and some other protective measures already set, we were ready. We set an alarm for 2 am to check on things. When that alarm went off I went downstairs and saw that the water had gone up but we still had 3 inches or more before the water even reached the house. I was getting back in bed when we heard a loud popping noise. Alise looked out the window and told me that something was wrong, our street was flowing like a river! The water was about 6 inches in our yard and already up against the sandbags. We sent a message to our small group and several of them were awake and facing similar issues. We went down stairs and water was coming into the house through the tiles in the flooring. We started to bring a few more things upstairs including food and water. We were upstairs and could last a few days. We called our neighbors to wake them up and let them know the situation and we all decided we could wait this out. Then water started to bubble and raise levels in the upstairs toilets so we filled up garbage bags and put them in the toilets and over the drains to keep the water down. Oh, now we would not have a bathroom to use. The flood downstairs was coming up fast, already at the top of the sandbags, it was going to hit some electrical outlets soon. Oh, we were going to lose power. We looked outside at our truck. The water was already at the running boards. Oh, we were going to lose our truck very soon and our means of evacuation…

At this point it was 4 am and the water was still rising fast. We vaguely remember that the best thing to do is to stay put in a flood but from what we saw last week, we knew that our house was the low point in the neighborhood and if we could just get a block away we would be clear to get the rest of the way. It was either leave now with the truck or stay in a house with no toilets and no electricity for a day or two and lose the truck and our means of evacuation in the future. So we took a chance and said let’s go for it; if the truck did stall out, the water was high but the speed was not ridiculous yet. I jumped into our truck and the flood water was already at the base of the doors. Shhh…please no one tell the grandparents this part…We helped the kids get into the truck and started out into the water – perhaps 3-4 feet deep now. There were times when our headlights went out because they were under water – these were the scariest moments for this California boy (I mean earthquakes and forest fires, no problem!) Thankfully, within a few blocks the water levels were back down to the base of our door, we made it! We were messaging our neighbors and small group throughout this experience and recieved prayers throughout. We are so grateful that God got us through it.

A LOT more has happened since then, but I will save that for the next journal. This is now the worst flood in the recorded history of Chiang Mai by far. But the water has stabilized and is starting to go down. Please pray for the rain up north to give us a break! The rescue efforts are in full effect now. The military and rescue personnel are doing everything they can. As of this writing we have not been able to get back to the house but we hope that tomorrow we can wade in. We are checking on people and communities we work with. We live about a kilometer from the river and we are fortunate in many ways; there are communities who live right next to the river, mass devastation. We work with some families who have nothing left. There are landslides affecting many mountain communities. Chiang Rai and Mae Sai continue to get flooded. It will be a while before we can fully understand how bad this really is. For now, we are thankful we are safe and we are already jumping into relief efforts: the House of Love team has been providing relief food support such as rice, water, oil, and eggs to several tribal churches and families so they can act as distribution points.

Right now, prayer and financial support are the best ways to help:

International Ministries has started two special projects to help the people affected by the flooding. Initial relief efforts are just the start; many people have lost their homes and will miss work – and they had very little margin to begin with. Food, supplies, and other assistance will be supported by this project.

Click on the button below to support flood relief efforts in northern Thailand:

The staff had to get creative to make food deliveries!