Mon, May 20, 2013 05:38:55 AM
Bangkok Post
Mon, May 20, 2013 05:38:55 AM
Bangkok Post
Flood levels in Sukhothai municipality remained stable yesterday, while run-off from the North showed signs of receding.
The highest flood level in some municipal areas stood at 30cm as drainage slowed because several water pumps broke down, mayor Phichet Thaikla said yesterday.
He said mechanics were called in to repair the machines, which have been in use since Sept 10 after several breaches to the levee along the Yom River left downtown Sukhothai inundated.
Mr Phichet said the situation was not serious as the Yom River water level was receding and no additional run-off had arrived from the North.
Flooding in Ayuthaya is also under control as discharges from the Chao Phraya dam into the Chao Phraya River in Chai Nat have been reduced, provincial governor Wittaya Piewpong said.
Only six riverside communities near the Chao Phraya and Noi rivers were still badly flooded, he said. The historical town in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district was still unaffected because the water level in the Chao Phraya River there was lower than U-Thong Road, which serves as its flood wall.
In Lampang province, which neighbours Sukhothai, overflow from the Wang River has submerged communities in tambon Thoen Buri in Thoen district.
The flood level was 1m high on local roads in Ban Tha Mai Moo 10 and Ban Tha Luang Moo 4 and more than 100 rai of paddy fields was under water.
A section of Phahon Yothin Road, linking Lampang and Tak, was also flooded at kilometre marker No. 612. The water level at a U-turn near Mae Yon creek was measured at nearly 1.5m.
In the Northeast, flash floods hit Rong Kleua Market in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district early yesterday, forcing vendors to move their goods to higher ground.
Visitors had to wade through 30cm-deep floodwater to enter the market, which is a major border trade venue between Thailand and Cambodia.
The strong flash flood also hit Aranyaprathet municipality, prompting authorities to evacuate residential areas.
The water also submerged the Tha Kham-Khok Sabaeng Road in tambon Tha Kham.
Aranyaprathet is the hardest-hit of six districts declared disaster zones, Sa Kaeo governor Sanit Naksuksi said.
The government will stay on alert for the next 30 days after the Water and Flood Management Commission issued a warning of more heavy rain, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said.
In Bangkok, Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the water volume from the rain was still manageable, although it took time to drain out of some small roads and communities.
The real worry for the city this year is heavy rainfall and not run-off from the North like last year, former Bangkok governor Bhichit Rattakul said.
The current water volume in the Central Plains region was 3,000 million cubic metres, compared to about 12,000 million cu/m during the same period last year, he said.
Meanwhile, about 500 Don Muang residents blocked a section of Vibhavadi Rangsit Road for several hours yesterday to urge the Bangkok governor to speed up compensation payments for residents hit by last year's flood. The protesters said they wanted the city to pay 20,000 baht to each household affected by the disaster. They took to the street after learning that the city had only 30 million baht left in its budget, while it had yet to compensate flood victims in 37 districts.
They agreed to disperse after city police commander Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit Thoopkrachang held talks with them.
