Flooding continues to affect areas of Thailand, where disaster authorities report over 13,000 people displaced and 41,324 households affected.
Heavy rain brought by Tropical Storm Noru triggered floods in several provinces in late September 2022. Three people died and 2 were injured in floods and strong winds in late September in Sisaket Province.
The heavy rain has continued since then, causing further flooding and rivers to rise. On 02 October authorities issued warnings for communities close to rivers in the Chao Phraya and Pa Sak river basins.
According to Thailand’s National Hydroinformatics Data Center, as of 05 October, rivers were above critical levels in 38 locations, mostly in northern and central provinces.
Recently affected areas include the popular tourist destination of Chiang Mai in the north where the Ping River broke its banks on 03 October, flooding areas of Muang district. As of 04 October the river reached 4.65 metres, which is above the 3.70 metre critical level, and was still rising.
The overflowing Ping river also flooded areas of Tak Province, in particular Ban Tak district where 4,342 households were affected. Authorities and military are distributing relief supplies to affected areas, DDPM said.
Also in the north, flooding has impacted wide areas of Ubon Ratchathani province, where more than 13,135 people were moved into 74 shelters after the Moon River (also known as Mun) overflowed, DDPM reported. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visited some of the affected areas of the province on 05 October.
Further south, 5,740 households close to the Chao Phraya river were affected by floods in Nakhon Sawan Province on 02 October. Around 2,620 households have been affected by flooding from the overflowing Chao Phraya river in Phrom Buri district in the eastern part of Sing Buri province.
In neighbouring Lopburi Province, as many as 15,567 households were affected by floods according to DDPM. Almost 500 people have been displaced in the province.
Thai Army troops were deployed to work with government agencies to strengthen flood defences in the Chao Phraya basin from 02 October. Teams constructed flood defences along a 10 km stretch of the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi province, just north of Bangkok.
Bangkok
Roads were flooded in Bangkok after heavy rainfall on 03 October. The weather station at Bangkok Port recorded 100.5 mm of rain in 24 hours according to Thai Meteorological Department.
Rivers are rising in the city and further rain is expected. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) urged employees to work from home in the next few days. Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej expressed fears that between 05 to 07 October the city will be facing possible heavy flooding with the arrival of floodwaters from the north coupled with anticipated heavy rains.
