Western provinces warned of flooding, poor drainage in East

The government on Wednesday warned of possible flooding in western provinces with forecasts of heavy rain, while explaining high tides are impeding drainage of flood waters from eastern provinces Chachoengsao and Prachin Buri.

At Government House, deputy government spokeswoman Lalida Persvivatana announced the warning to Kanchanaburi, Phetchaburi, Ratchaburi and Samut Songkhram. The western provinces are in the Mae Klong River basin, where rain is expected to increase from Saturday to Monday next week and local dams have to release water.

According to Ms Lalida, floodwater was slowly receding in Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya and Suphan Buri provinces on Wednesday morning.

In Chon Buri, flooding has been improving in Phanat Nikhom district, she said. Nonetheless, flood drainage has been slow in Pathum Thani province, immediately north of Bangkok, partly due to water from Ongkharak district of Nakhon Nayok.

Inundation has remained serious in the eastern provinces of Chachoengsao and Prachin Buri, in the Bang Pakong River basin. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported rising flood levels in 18 districts across the two provinces and 19 people drowned in Prachin Buri alone.

Ms Lalida said that high tides in the Bang Pakong River have slowed flood drainage.

Water from the north flowing to the Chao Phraya River basin, which includes Greater Bangkok, has been entering the Chao Phraya River at a rate of 1,915 cubic metres per second in Nakhon Sawan province. The government has planned to lower the discharge rate at the Chao Phraya barrage in Chai Nat province from 2,500 to 2,400 cubic metres per second on Wednesday afternoon.

In Bangkok, three roads were flooded Wednesday morning due to heavy rain. They were Chalong Krung, Lat Krabang and Suwinthawong roads where flood levels were 10-30 centimetres deep.

The death toll from floods since Sept 16 has risen to 60, with 51 of Thailand's 77 provinces affected, the Interior Ministry reported.

Floodwaters persist in parts of 28 provinces, including Bangkok, impacting a total of 1.15 million households, the ministry said.