Heavy rain spurs flood warnings

dam spillover poses threat

Tropical melancholy Mulan has dumped a significant amount of rain into 35 dams triggering warnings of the potential spillover from some, says work of the National Drinking water Resources (ONWR).

Mulan, that can be downgraded from a tropical storm, caused widespread downpours in the upper Northern and the Northeast from Thursday until recently.

This particular raised levels in waterways across the country, a lot of which flow into dams. However , specialists warn the danger is not really over yet.

Surasee Kittimonthon, the ONWR secretary-general, said yesterday Mulan has been responsible for increased inflows into thirty-five dams with a mixed capacity of 4, 972 million cu metres of drinking water.

9 of the 35 dams are located in the North, and have a storage capacity of 2, 024 million cubic metres of drinking water.

The particular ONWR warned a few of the dams may be at risk of spilling over and informed the Royal Water sources Department (RID) to watch closely.

A further 12 are in the Northeast with a 1, 303 million cubic centimetres of water.

State authorities have already been alerted to the rise in water levels in the dams and advised to manage the water outflow to prevent floods in downstream areas, according to Mr Surasee.

Discharging water from the dams at the appropriate rate is vital to mitigating the particular impact of storms, he added.

He said the ONWR provides told the FREE that if more drinking water has to be siphoned through dams, it must tell residents within downstream provinces ahead of time so they can move to higher ground in case of floods.

Six provinces yesterday remained flooded in the wake of Mulan.

Altogether 1, 885 households across 30 districts were inundated although there were no casualties.

Families in the places most heavily soaked have received help from local administrative organisations as well as the disaster avoidance and mitigation workplaces, and floodwater amounts are generally receding, says the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said Best Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has been monitoring the situation in the North and Northeast and ordered state agencies to deliver assistance urgently.

Gen Prayut has also instructed the particular armed forces to deploy soldiers in overloaded areas where military vehicles and flat-bottomed boats will be used because public transport to get residents and help those with special requirements.

The particular military is also food preparation meals for residents.

“The situation has to be monitored closely.

“Runoff from the hills remains a possibility given that rain has not allow up in many locations, ” Mr Thanakorn said.

Meanwhile, Bangkok chief excutive Chadchart Sittipunt mentioned areas outside the city’s floodwalls such as parts of Rama III Road may be prone to floods.

Nevertheless the situation in Bangkok is not yet vital.