Thai authority:Reservoirs can hold rainwater

BANGKOK, September 20 (TNA) - Thailand's Royal Irrigation Department has confirmed that ongoing rainfalls are normal in the rainy season currently and large reservoirs and main rivers nationwide have some 50 per cent of their capacities left to receive more rainwater. The department's director-general, Lertviroj Kowattana, made the confirmation, himself, on Friday morning, saying that he, therefore, does not expect any flooding from upstream areas, like that in 2011. Lertviroj insisted that Thailand's medium and large-scaled reservoirs and main rivers have 40-50 per cent of their capacities left and they can receive more rainwater even if there are 2-3 storms in a row. According to the senior Thai official, the Chao Phraya Dam, the country's first large-scaled dam in the central Chai Nat province, is discharging water at 1,500-1,600 cubic meters per second and the rate is normal, while there are farmlands and water retention areas which can receive rainwater in case that there are unusual rainfalls. The Royal Irrigation Department chief said he is confident that urban and commercial areas will be safe from flooding, but low-lying areas are likely to be flooded, including Bang Ban and Sena districts in Ayutthaya province and Phong Pheng sub-district in Ang Thong province, both in Thailand's central region, although their flooding will be short-term. Meanwhile, widespread downpours covered Bangkok and peripheral areas overnight, with the rain measuring 50-60 millimeters on average. In Ayutthaya, the Chao Phraya and the Noi Rivers have overflown to riverside communities in three districts, flooding 5,100 households, with inundation levels in some areas being deeper than one meter. Flooding has also been reported in many areas in Thailand's eastern and northeastern regions, with, for instance, run-offs from the cracked Pa Or Dam in Khun Han district of the northeastern Si Sa Ket province, caused by excessive water, having inunated adjacent communities and farmlands; while water from the Phanom Dong Rak mountain range along the Thai-Cambodian border has kept flowing to the dam. (TNA)