Level of Chao Phraya tipped to rise in Nakhon Sawan over coming days
As floods still affected 12 provinces, officials at the Royal Irrigation Department's Computing Centre for the Water Situation said yesterday the flow rate of the Chao Phraya River in Nakhon Sawan would rise to 2,300-2,400 cubic metres per second in the next three-to-five days due to a subtropical ridge hovering over the North and Northeast.
As of yesterday at 6am, Nakhon Sawan reported the river flowing at 2,196 cubic metres per second and the level was 1.52 metres lower than the river banks.
The RID limited water running through the Chao Phraya Dam so it was under 2,000 cubic metres per second.
This meant low-lying areas along the river in Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Angthong and Ayutthaya would face increases of about 10cm-15cm from the current water level for four-to-five days.
Angthong governor Wisawa Sasisamit yesterday declared Pa Moke, Mueang, Chaiyo, Pho Thong and Wiset Chai Chan districts flood disaster zones.
In Phitsanulok, hardest-hit Bang Rakam district residents developed severe stress from suffering flood conditions, and 2 per cent of them were at risk of committing suicide, provincial public health officer Dr Boonterm Tansurat said yesterday.
The area's mobile medical teams' 21 visits treated a total of 6,047 patients, most of whom suffered from rashes, wounds and stress, he added.
Mueang district's ancient wall was also partially eroded due to strong currents of flood water, while Nan River in the district was now at 10.10 meters - still below the major flood in September 1995's level of 10.51 meters - and the Yom River continued to rise at 5cm per day, which was expected to pass the 1995 flood's level in four days.
Meanwhile, 300,000 rai of farm land in Sukhothai's Sri Samrong, Kong Krailat and Mueang districts were submerged and another 20,000 rai were at risk.
In related news, forest floods from Doi Nang Non in Chiang Rai's Mae Chan district swept away a two-year-old boy who was walking along the waterway to see his grandma at a nearby home yesterday morning.
In Phichit, the body of a 53-year-old man was found entangled in fish net in two-metre-deep floodwater on Friday night after he went fishing in flooded rice fields.
The officials' examination said he died from drowning, probably after getting a cramp. The death brought the flood toll in Phichit to three.
UP TO ONE MILLION PEOPLE THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN HIT BY FLOOD DISASTER
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has ordered urgent measures to tackle the flooding problem, as the number of people affected by persistent floods threatens to top the one million mark.
The government Saturday ordered more money for flood relief, and a centre to coordinate flood efforts, as the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said 28 provinces had now been declared emergency disaster areas.While the situation had eased in 16 provinces, another 12 remain critical. So far 928,046 people in 88 districts in 12 provinces have been affected by floods which have caused hundreds of millions baht worth of damage.
- Related: District pleads for a dam
She has designated Bang Rakam district of Phitsanulok as a model for solving flood problems using an integrated approach. Parts of the district are under almost two metres of water.
The government will also allocate extra emergency funding to help flood victims in Sukhothai, Phrae and Nan.
Meanwhile, flood-stricken residents in Phitsanulok are stepping up demands for construction of Kaeng Sua Ten Dam to solve flooding in the Yom River basin.
Ms Yingluck said she has told state agencies to build more water retention areas, drain more floodwaters and to build more embankments. More pumps were needed to drain floodwaters out of submerged areas.
She said officials must prepare for flooding, respond rapidly to help people, and find ways of preventing floods.
Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit said the extra money approved for Sukhothai, Phrae and Nan will be on top of the 50 million baht which each has already received. Sukhothai will receive another 200 million baht, while Phrae and Nan will receive 50 million baht each.
In Sukhothai, more than 1,000 people in Muang district dressed in black to mourn the deaths of six people killed during the flooding.
Residents signed a petition calling on the government to push ahead with construction of the Kaeng Sua Ten Dam.
All 25 districts of the northern province of Chiang Mai have been declared disaster areas from flooding. More than 1,000 households in San Kamphaeng district were affected by floods as the water level had reached more than 80 centimeters high.
In Nan province, the Nan River was reaching a critical point as water had overflowed to flood communities along river banks, while the Nan municipality had closed all watergates and was using four water pumps to drain the water.
Authorities had warned the public to be prepared for flooding as the municipality could use water pumps to delay the flood for only 10-12 hours.
In Lamphun, after two consecutive days of rain, the Kwang River had flooded six subdistricts of the provincial seat. Water levels reached one metre high in some areas. The villagers had built makeshift dykes from sandbags to prevent further flooding.
In Sing Buri, authorities had built a water prevention wall at Phrom Buri district to respond to increasing water levels in the Chao Phraya River.
Drainage was blocked to prevent the influx of water from the river while water pumps were used to lower water level.
0 comments:
Post a Comment