Irrigation officials have been advised by Thailand’s Office of the National Water Command Centre (NWCC) to manage the discharge of excess water from Thailand’s 20 major dams and reservoirs properly, to reduce impacts on downstream communities and farmland, as they are in danger of overflowing due to heavy rain.
The officials were also instructed to warn people living downstream of the dams to brace for the possible impacts of the discharge of huge volumes of excess water, to ease pressure on the dams.
The dams and reservoirs in danger of overflowing, listed by the NWCC, are:
In the northern region: Mae Mok, Kwae Noi BumrungDaen and Thap Salao dams
In the Northeast: Ubol Ratana, Chulabhorn, Lam Takong, Lam Phra Phloeng, Lam Mun Bon, Lam Sae, Lam Nang Rong and Sirindhorn dams.
In the central region: Pasak Jolasid and Kra Siew dams.
In the eastern region: Khun Dan Prakan Chon and Naruebodindrachinda dams and Nong Pla Lai reservoir.
In western region: Srinagarind, Vajiralongkorn, Kaeng Krachan and Pran Buri dams.
Meanwhile, in the central province of Saraburi, numerous houses located along the banks of the Pasak River, as well as a huge Yang Na tree at a riverside temple, said to be over 100 years old, have fallen after the water level in the river dropped rapidly.
One of the riverside house owners told Thai PBS that her house collapsed on Wednesday morning after the river bank caved in, adding that this was not the first time, as her first home also collapsed about a decade ago.
She noted that, if excess water had been discharged properly through the Pasak Jolasid dam, the riverbank would not have caved in.
Deputy Director-General of the Marine Department SompongJirasirilert, who inspected the Pasak River banks, admitted that the situation is critical, as more cave-ins are expected.
He warned people living close to the river to leave the area immediately, if they find cracks on the ground, and to move their belongings further away from the riverbanks.
He explained that the quick drop in water level in the river caused the water-soaked riverbanks to cave in because there is no water pressure to hold them up.
Today (Friday), the Thai Meteorological Department predicted less rain in the northern part of the northeast after the tropical depression Kompasu weakened into a low-pressure cell over northern Vietnam.
It warned, however, that the southern part of the north-east, central, eastern and southern regions still faces heavy to very heavy rainfall because of the monsoon trough.
