Floods for another month in Thailand's main river basin: authorities

Flooding in central Thailand's Chao Phraya river basin is expected to continue until next month, as the run-off moving south is still rising, Royal Irrigation Department (RID) chief Samart Chokkanapitak said on Friday.

As of Friday, official death toll rose to 47. Damage from the flood was estimated at 305.3 million baht (8.1 million U.S. dollars), with more than 8,000 homes damaged, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported Friday.

Before leaving for a trip to inspect flooding in eight Chao Phraya river basin provinces -- Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Ang Thong, Sing Buri, Chai Nat, Uthai Thani and Nakhon Sawan, Samart said he was concerned that the flooding would stay longer than previously expected -- at least until mid-November.

Floodwaters in the central plains will not recede until late next month when the situation is expected to return to normal, he was quoted by TNA as saying.

The rising floodwaters in Nakhon Sawan province are overflowing into nearby province Uthai Thani. Many areas along the Chao Phraya River, from Nakhon Sawan to parts of Bangkok and Samut Prakan are now in worrisome situations. Suphan Buri, and Lop Buri could not be spared from floods as well, he said.

He advised all communities in the at-risk areas to be prepared to deal with flooding during this period.

The RID chief said the department is looking for more tracts of land available in the interior countryside areas far from the Chao Phraya River in order to divert excess water from the country's central waterway.

Source: Xinhua