Photo: This photo taken on September 14 shows homes inundated by floodwaters at Inle Lake, in Myanmar’s southern Shan state. Typhoon Yagi brought a colossal deluge of rain that has inundated a swathe of northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, triggering deadly landslides and widespread river flooding.//AFP
Thailand has approached Myanmar for talks between water management agencies in tackling the common problem of flooding, to prevent a repeat of the devastating flooding which struck the two countries last week.
Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said today that Thailand wants to hold talks with Myanmar about the possibility of expanding water retention areas, to absorb excess water from rivers with origins in Myanmar and which then flow through Thailand and Laos.
The Sai, Kok and Salween rivers flow from Myanmar through Thailand, before draining into Mekong River.
On the Sai River, which demarcates the border between Thailand and Myanmar, encroachment by human settlements into the river from both sides has narrowed the channel and have made it shallower, resulting in river overflows.
For long-term measures, Maris said Thailand will propose a meeting on water management among agencies of Mekong riparian countries, such as China, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, under the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) framework, to prevent flooding in the future.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok posted a statement on its web page on Sunday denying that China has drained water into the Mekong River through the Jinghong Dam, resulting in flooding in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.
The statement also said China is pleased to cooperate and discuss measures with Mekong riparian countries to prevent flooding.
