7 Thai Provinces Battle Fast Rising Chao Phraya River

[webfact]

FLOOD

7 provinces battle fast rising Chao Phraya

By The Nation

PM instructs governors to boost barriers; Lop Buri under 3 metres of flood water

Seven provinces will have to raise and reinforce their embankments along the Chao Phraya River or risk serious flooding, emergency officials warned yesterday.

Locals in Uthai Thani, Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Angthong, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi were also told to move their belongings to higher ground as a precaution.

The level of the Chao Phraya in the seven provinces would rise even further today and tomorrow, according to the Emergency Operation Centre for Floods, Storms and Landslides.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday she was worried about all provinces that had to deal with run-off from the North. "I have instructed those provincial governors to prepare embankments," she said.

The emergency centre's deputy director, Chatpong Chatphuti, said yesterday that authorities were closely monitoring the situation. The Chao Phraya had already overflowed in many provinces, he said.

In Nakhon Sawan, a water-flow rate of up to 3,884 cubic metres per second was overwhelming locals' efforts to limit the damage caused by the overflowing river. The province's permanent embankment could handle water-flow of up to 3,500 cubic metres per second.

Foreseeing the arrival of run-off from the upper North, local authorities and residents have been adding sandbags on top of the permanent embankment, but this proved inadequate yesterday.

Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut said that in Chai Nat, the Chao Phraya was expected to rise by 30 centimetres in three days.

"Authorities and locals in Chai Nat must be prepared to deal with a massive amount of water," he said.

In Pathum Thani, farmers complained of flooded paddy fields.

"I was about to harvest my crops when the floodwater suddenly burst in," rice farmer Sangwan Peungkaew said.

Some said their flood woes could have been avoided with more help from Bangkok.

"Some parts of my paddy fields are already flooded. If Bangkok would open a water gate to take in some water, other parts of my fields could be saved," said Thanong Ketfak.

Authorities have been using water gates as a tool to protect the capital from inundation.

After a discussion with Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra last night, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra expressed confidence that the water gates would keep Bangkok safe.

Earlier, the prime minister visited flood victims in Nonthaburi, cooking omelettes and chicken wings for some.

1.4 MILLION SUFFERING

Flooding has become a serious crisis across the country, with more than 1.4 million people struggling with floodwater.

At press time, the official flood-related death toll was 112, with two people reported missing.

According to the Emergency Operation Centre for Floods, Storms and Landslides, 26 provinces are suffering from serious floods, including Lop Buri and Angthong.

All 11 of Lop Buri's districts are flooded, with roads to many villages severed. "In some areas, locals can still travel around by boat. But some villages are completely cut off. With deep floodwater spreading far and wide, it's not possible for locals there to try to venture out of their homes," said Lop Buri Governor Chatchai Promlert, adding that the floodwater was almost three metres deep in some parts of Ban Mi district.

In Angthong, floodwater was more than two metres deep in some areas. Affected people have had to travel around in boats or find items that float to cling to as they try to swim through the water.

Pheu Thai Party deputy leader and party-list MP Pol Lt-General Wiroj Pao-in fainted while handing out relief items to victims in Angthong yesterday. Wiroj fell face down, striking his head. He was sent to a hospital for treatment.

-- The Nation 2011-09-19

[phutoie2]

Love that pic of Yingluck in the water. Just cannot imagine my own countries recent PM's doing something like that - Blair,Brown, Call me Dave.

[londonthai]

just photo shot opportunities, same did abhisit the last year.

each shot is worth 1mln baht in saved advertising for the party/politician.

each of these "charitable" trips to the countryside costs millions of B to prepare - helicopters full of politicians, security services, journalists. Thirty minutes in one place and off we go home to bangkok to party