Nong Khai’s municipal administration issued a red alert on Sunday morning, to warn residents in the area to brace for flooding, as the swollen Mekong River has breached a sandbag embankment, causing water to flood a temple community.
Lt. Satawat Nukul, deputy company commander of the 24th Army Circle, said today that he has asked the provincial governor to bring large bags and concrete barriers to reinforce the embankment, fearing that the sandbags will not be able to withstand the water pressure.
He said that his 26 men had been constructing a sandbag embankment in front of Phra That Temple since 11pm Saturday night and they have not rested until this morning.
Somjate Charoensuk, leader of the Phra That Temple community, said that there are about 100 hotels, hostels and food shops in the vicinity of the temple, but they have been closed for the past few days due to flooding.
The municipal administration announced today that the water level in the Mekong River has fallen slightly this morning, but advised residents to keep updated on the water situation.
Meanwhile, in Nakhon Phanom province, the water level in the Mekong River is steadily rising, due to continuous heavy rainfall. Residents of Ban Don Paeng in Ban Paeng district have been evacuated to safety and hay has been supplied by livestock officials to feed cattle, after the grazing pasturesbecame flooded.
In the Chiang Khan district of Loei, irrigation officials sent six water diversion devices from Udon Thani yesterday. They will be installed at the foot of a bridge to divert the outflow from the Huai River into the Mekong River, to reduce the volume of water in the Huai River.
A water expert, Dr. Seri Suparatit, of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, predicted today that it will take another 10 days before Chiang Rai will be safe from flooding,as there is still a water mass, estimated at about 350 million cubic metres, in Myanmar, which is gradually flowing into the Kok River and then into the Mekong River, assuming that about 40 million cubic metres are drained out per day.
He said that the recent flooding in Chiang Rai, particularly in Mae Sai district, described as the worst in 3 decades, should prompt the government to develop a long-term plan and information system to prevent future flooding in the province.
