Flooding remains in Thailand's northern, central regions

SUKHOTHAI, September 15 (TNA) - Flooding has remained in several areas in Thailand's northern and central regions, including 11 villages in Sri Sat-cha-na-lai District of Sukhothai Province, where floods in Muang District earlier this week have been just receding to normal. Flash floods, caused by heavy downpours overnight, have inundated the 11 villages in Sukhothai, with some areas submerged by as high as 1.5 metres floodwater, forcing over 700 households to have evacuated and damaging over 1,500 rai of farmlands. In Mae Hong Son Province, the heavy downpours overnight have caused a landslide blocking a main highway connecting Mae Hong Son with nearby Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai Provinces, leading to a 2-kilometre-long traffic congestion. Local authorities have taken heavy machines to reopen the route. In Lampang Province, the heavy rainfalls overnight have also caused runoffs from mountains to overflow the Mae Sai Kam Reservoir and inundate three villages and a main bridge in Muang District, affecting over 100 local households. In the central Ayutthaya Province, overflows from the Muang Canal have flooded the Hua Laem Community in the provincial heart, prompting local authorities to have sent workers to build a temporary wooden bridge to ease commuters' hardships, while also preparing to cope with the rising water levels in the Muang Canal and to protect ancient sites in the old Thai capital from floods. (TNA)