AYUTTHAYA: Water from the Chao Phraya River overflowed into Bang Ban district on Sunday, flooding about 200 homes, plantations and rice fields.
The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) previously said the river's water level would not rise and cause flooding in Bang Ban this year, but the report was false, said Montri Samathi, chief of tambon Bang Luang.
He said his village was actually flooded for more than a week, and the water level kept increasing after the Chao Phraya Dam in Chai Nat released more water. "About 200 out of 290 homes are flooded," he said. "The water also damaged farmlands and inundated roads, which make it hard for us to commute." According to a source, the water level in some parts of the river was 50–70cm deep.
Ayutthaya governor Niwat Rungsakhon said the RID had warned that the Chao Phraya Dam would discharge 1,800m³ of water per second on Saturday, up from 150m³ per second on Friday. Water volumes along the river would rise to about 80cm, he said.
In addition to Ban Luang, communities in tambon Hua Wiang of Sena district and tambon Lat Chit and Tha Din Daeng of Phak Hai were also flooded.
In Khon Kaen, water volumes in Ubol Ratana Dam were over its storage capacity, provincial governor Kraisorn Kongchalat said yesterday. The dam discharges 15 million m³ a day to help alleviate the situation in Maha Sarakham and Roi Et, he said.
The flood in the province has submerged 47,226 rai of farmland and 60 roads, he said. Authorities have evacuated 13 households in Ubon Ratana district to a high-ground area, he added. The National Water Command Centre expects more rain from Oct 16–19 in the Central, Eastern, Northeastern and Southern regions.
