Floods remain in nine Thai provinces

BANGKOK, October 9 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Interior's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation says that floods have remained in nine provinces, affecting more than 109,600 households. The department's director-general Chatchai Promlert on Tuesday identified the flooded provinces as Prachin Buri, Chachoengsao, Phitsanulok, Phichit, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya, Suphan Buri, Nakhon Pathom and Samut Prakan, acknowledging that more than 267,000 people, or over 109,600 households, in the affected areas are in trouble. According to updated reports, flash floods from the Tanaosri mountain range and neighbouring Ratchaburi Province are hitting hundreds of households in Dan Makham Tia area of Kanchanaburi Province, with floodwater measured about 50 centimeters deep, isolating about 350 households, as the current inundations are obstructing transportation on some 30 routes, including the Tha Maka-Dan Makham Tia Road, and prompting soldiers to bring food to the flood victims. Meanwhile, Royol Chitradon, head of the Thai government’s flood monitoring sub-committee, expressed his concerns over now two-week flooded communities outside floodwalls in the western and eastern sides of Bangkok, as continual downpours have added their hardships, urging concerned parties to keep monitoring water levels at several dams for efficient water management. (TNA)