NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Oct 21 – Many areas in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province are still under water despite two days without rain. A large volume of water, however, is expected to hit the provincial seat’s downtown commercial area in the next few days.
Despite receding floodwater on the Ratchasima-Chokchai and Ratchasima-Chakkarat roads and low lying areas at the entrance of Chamchuree village, travelers still need to be aware of road conditions.
Five low-lying subdistricts in the provincial seat are still flooded, causing outbound lanes of the road in the provincial seat to be impassible. A special lane has been opened for Mitraphab road to Bangkok as other parts of the road remain under 40-50 cm of floodwater.
Hua Talay Hospital in the provincial seat has resumed normal operation after a two-day closure while Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital is watching the water level in Lumtakong Reservoir as runoff from Sikew and Sungnoen districts are expected to flood the downtown in the next few days.
Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital director Narong Apikulvanich said rising water in Lamtakong reservoir has not yet affected the hospital, which is monitoring the flood around the clock.
Dr Narong said a flood prevention dyke has been built and that the hospital’s flood drainage has been fixed. He said the four water-powered automatic gates at the hospital will shut down if water from Lamtakong reservoir is higher than the flood gates. The water level so far has remained 1-2 metres below the floodwall.
