North braces for flooding as storm approaches

Meanwhile, local farmers are using this opportunity to store abundant water supply for the next dry season, after the North faced a serious drought earlier this year.

More rains brought by the tropical storm raised the water level in Nan River again, after floodwaters had receded in Nan a week earlier. The provincial administration issued a warning to local people to brace for possible flooding.

Narong Inso, the director of Nan Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, said the heavy rains from Friday night until yesterday had raised the water level in Nan River again and had already flooded some of the farmland and residential areas.

Narong also said the fast-flowing water had destroyed the bridge between Ban Namtoung and Ban Sawang in Mae Charim district, leading to disruption of transport.

“Nan’s provincial governor has already issued a warning to all |people in the province to brace for possible floods and they should be prepared for unexpected events, especially in areas that are prone |to flooding. This is because the water level in the river is rising very fast and it is possible that there will be flooding just like last week,” he said.

The raging river also destroyed a bridge in Lampang’s Wang Nue district yesterday following heavy rains in the mountain on Friday night caused by flash floods along Wang River. It was reported that the authorities in Lampang had already deployed personnel to help the flood victims.

However, many locals seized opportunities to stock water. People in Sukhothai and Phitsanulok collected the floodwater in the paddy fields and ponds to store the water for the dry season.

Sukhothai Provincial Governor Piti Kaewsalabsri disclosed that due to high level of water in Yom River, the water was diverted to Thoung Tale Luang pond and other water reservoirs, which can slowly reduce the high water level in the river and save water for the next dry season.

“I will ensure that Sukhothai does not flood this year. However, as precaution people are still advised to keep their properties on high ground, as we are now diverting the water to the water reservoirs,” Piti said.

Sukhothai Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office director Boonying Khumsuphan revealed that Yom River was one metre lower than the critical point of 7.30 metres.

“The water is mostly collected in Thoung Tale Luang to provide irrigation in the dry season. As of now, the reservoir has only 10 million cubic metres of water and it can still receive 22 million more cubic metres of water,” Boonying said.

Meanwhile in Phitsanulok, Somkuan Rungrueng, the village head of Moo 10 in Phrompiram district, disclosed that the water level at the old Yom River had risen up to 90 centimetres overnight and was overflowing the river course into the farmland and houses in the low-lying area.

However, he said the villagers had used this opportunity to divert water into 3,000 rai of paddy field to save water for the upcoming dry season, as this area was hit hard during the severe drought last year.