Residents in Chiang Mai’s Mueang district have been advised to move their valuables to higher ground, as the water level in the Ping River is steadily rising, threatening to overflow due to heavy rain last night.
The water depth was measured at 3.35 metres at 10am today and it has reached the critical level. A command centre has been set up by Chiang Mai municipality to monitor the water level in real time around the clock.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Chiang Rai province, Governor Puttipong Sirimat has instructed the Wiang Pa Pao district chief officer to monitor the flood situation in the district and to have traffic directed on the Chiang Rai-Chiang Mai highway, which is now partially flooded and impassable to most vehicles.
According to the Department of Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, nine provinces still remain partially flooded today. These include Mae Sai and Wiang Pao districts of Chiang Rai, Na Noi, Na Muen and Wiang Sa districts in Nan, most of Lampang, Long and Wang Chin districts of Phrae, Phrom Phiram, Bang Ra Kam and Mueang districts of Phitsanuloke, Mueang district of Loei, Si Chiang Mai, Tha Bo, Mueang and Phon Phisai districts of Nong Khai and Bang Ban, Bang Pa-in, Phak Hai, Sena and Bang Sai districts of Ayutthaya.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said today that sufficient food supplies have been sent to flood victims in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, after the government allocated a 100 million baht emergency budget each for the two provinces.
