Floods remain in many Thai areas, Bangkok is safe

BANGKOK, October 3 (TNA) - Floods have remained in many areas of almost all Thai regions, but Bangkok has been safe. In the Thai North, water levels in many rivers have kept rising after continual downpours over the past several days, causing floods in many local areas. Days of rainfalls have caused the Kham River in the northern Chiang Rai province to rise and flow forcefully. Its currents are eroding banks and riverside roads. In Pho Prathap Chang district of Phichit province, incessant downpours, water from upstream Phitsanulok province and run-offs have caused floods in villages, farmlands and commercial areas. In the Northeast, heavy downpours have caused floods in seven districts of Chaiyaphum province for another round, with more flooded areas and more than 200,000 people being in trouble. In the Thai East, floodwater from Prachin Buri province has reached nearby Chachoengsao province, where Ratchasan district has been declared a flood-stricken area and floodwater from Prachin Buri's Si Maha Phot and Ban Sang districts have submerged local roads by more than one meters. Bangkok has remained safe from floods from upstream areas. Sanya Chinimit, Deputy City clerk, told reporters on Thursday that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has monitored water levels in the capital and found that water from upstream areas has not had any impact on the city. Royal Irrigation Department Director-General Lertwiroj Kowattana, meanwhile, reported that water levels in the Chao Phraya River are much lower than its banks, citing, for example, that the water level at the main water station in Nakhon Sawan province in the Lower Thai North was latest measured at 1,700 cubic metres per second, about half below its critical level of 3,500 cubic metres per second, while water discharged from the Chao Phraya Dam was also at its normal rate of 2,195 cubic metres per second; so, he is confident that areas in the Chao Phraya River basin, covering Bangkok, will not be flooded this year. Lertwiroj assessed, if there were no more downpours, water levels in all rivers in Prachin Buri would be reducing lower than their banks over the next couple of days, but flooding in the northeastern Ubon Ratchathani province should recede after October 20. (TNA)