Thailand’s monster flood visible from space
An Italian satellite orbiting high over Thailand has captured dramatic images of floods spreading over Sukhothai and Phitsanulok provinces.
Photos snapped by the COSMO Skymed-1 satellite show more than 125,000 rai of the two provinces is underwater after recent storms lashed the lower North.
In Sukhothai, the flood covers around 1,000 rai and has hit residents of six districts and 42 subdistricts. In Phitsanulok, water has submerged approximately 25,000 rai, inundating villages in three districts.
Most of the flooded areas are low-lying valleys and farmers’ fields.
Local officials have launched a water diversion operation, redirecting the floods into the water retention basins known as “monkey cheeks” initiated by His Majesty King Rama IX.
Farmers have been hit hard by the flooding, which has ravaged 14,000 rai of rice fields in Sukhothai and 2,000 rai in Phitsanulok.
GISTDA continues to monitor the country's water situation as part of flood control measures. The public can check the water situation in their local area at the websites http://flood.gistda.or.th or http://gmos.gistda.or.th/.
