Riverside residents and businesses in 11 provinces in the Chao Phraya river basin, including Bangkok, have been advised to brace for rising water levels, after the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) increased the volume of water being discharged through the Chao Phraya Dam in Chainat province to about 1,500m3/s today.
An urgent letter, issued by RID deputy director-general Det Lekwichai and addressed to the governors of Uthai Thani, Chainat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Suphan Buri, Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan and Bangkok, advises precautionary measures be taken and the public be kept informed, especially those located along the Chao Phraya and Noi rivers.
The increased rate of water discharge, due to the volume of water from northern runoffs rising to about 1,900m3/s, raises the water level in the downstream reaches of the river by about 18cm.
Riverside residents in Tha It sub-district of Nonthaburi have found their communities flooded, after the river overflowed last night.
Riam Boonprasert, one of the residents, said that the water level today is higher than in previous days, but she has already moved her valuables to higher ground.
