Heavy rainfall in Thailand's Northeast, South

Heavy rainfall in Thailand's Northeast, South
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, Aug 1 -- Thailand's northeastern and southern provinces are encountering heavy downpours while the Royal Irrigation Department has denied rumours that floodwaters have overflowed the Lam Nang Rong Dam in the northeastern province of Buri Ram.

Surajate Boonya-aroonnet, an official of the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute, said the major reason the northeast is facing heavy rain is the impact of two tropical storms -- Halong and Nagri -- occurring almost at the same time, causing strong southwesterly winds and eventually cloudy sky and rain.

Northeastern provinces which are encountering heavy rainfall are Ubon Ratchathani, Mukdahan, Amnat Charoen, Si Sa Ket and Nakhon Phanom, said Mr Surajate.

The Royal Irrigation Department, meanwhile, said Lam Nang Rong Dam still has reserve capacity of more than 30 per cent of its total capacity. Mr Surajae said the dam is still in perfect shape and there has been no overflowed of floodwater in the area.

The RID urged the public not to panic.

Concerned officials said the bypass road in Amnat Charoen province remains unusable due to heavy flooding. Workers are draining the floodwater into a nearby canal.

The flood situation in the province seems in critical condition as floodwater has remained there for over a week now.

An official survey found that more than 300 houses and about 35,000 rai of paddle field in seven districts in Amnat Charoen province have been damaged so far.

In Plai Phraya district of the southern resort province of Krabi, continuous downpours have caused a reservoir to overflow, inundating agricultural areas as well as a number of roads in the province along the Andaman coast. (MCOT online news)

[tna]2014-08-01[/tna]