Flood situations still worrisome in Thai North, North East

BANGKOK, August 12 (TNA) – Many provinces in the northern and northeastern parts of Thailand are still inundated following recent heavy downpours. In the northern Chiang Rai province, water levels in rivers rose to critical level, causing trouble to hundreds of households. Local farmers hurriedly built floodwalls to protect their paddy fields from inundations. The flood crisis prompted Chiang Rai governor to have declared all the 16 districts of the province disaster zones affected by floods. In Lamphun province, ongoing rains caused the Ping River to overflow, affecting riverside communities and damaging more than 800,000 square meters of farmland. The overflowing Ping River also forced residents along the riverbank in Chiang Mai province to have evacuated and moved their belongings to higher grounds. Chiang Mai Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Centre Monday issued a warning of possible flashfloods in risk areas. In the northeastern province of Nong Khai, the water level of the Mekong River remained high and was under close watch as more downpours are expected due to the influence of typhoon Utor which moved from the Philippines to the South China Sea on Monday. (TNA)