Continual downpours cause floods in Thai Northeast, South

UBON RATCHATHANI, THAILAND, August 1 (TNA) - Continual heavy downpours have hit several northeastern and southern Thai areas over the past days, causing floods consequently. Surajate Boonya-aroonnet, an information director of the Hydro and Agro Institute, told journalists on Friday that the continual heavy rainfalls were caused by two tropical storms, Halong and Nagri, happening almost at the same time, leading to strong southwesterly wind with cloudy sky and rain. Surajate acknowledged that provinces mostly hit by the heavy downpours include Ubon Ratchathani, Mukdahan, Amnat Charoen, Si Sa Ket and Nakhon Phanom, all in the Thai Northeast. In Ubon Ratchathani, bordering Laos, severe flooding currently has prompted Governor Serm Chainarong to have declared 17 out of the province's 25 districts disaster zones, where provincial and charity workers have been mobilised to provide assistance to flood victims. In Amnat Charoen, where the flooding situation appears to be critical as floodwater has remained for over a week with more than 300 houses and about 35,000 rai of ricefields in seven districts having been damaged, concerned officials said a provincial bypass road remained unusable because of the heavy flooding, while workers were draining the floodwater into a nearby canal. In Buri Ram, the Royal Irrigation Department affirmed that Lam Nang Rong Dam could still take in water of more than 30 per cent of its total capacity and the dam was still in perfect shape with no overflows of floodwater in the area, urging people not to be panic. In Krabi Province in the Thai South, continual downpours in Plai Phraya District have caused water to overflow Khlong Ya Reservoir and enter two canals, causing their water levels to rise sharply and inundating more than 10 houses and over 100 rai of palm oil trees, as well as several roads along the Andaman coast, forcing motorists to use alternative routes which take them a longer journey. Meanwhile, a committee held a meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives in Bangkok to discuss plans to cope with a disaster against farm produce during the current monsoon season and also conferred plans to dispatch information and transport food during floods for the Ministry's of Interior's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation to further consider. (TNA)