UTTARADIT, 5 October 2011 – The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has confirmed the strength of Sirikit Dam in Uttaradit province and its ability to retain water amid incessant rains while denying the rumor that the dam has begun to break.
In the wake of a report of a breakage and a looming collapse of Sirikit Dam, Mr Thanarat Phummakasikorn, director of the dam, dismissed the news as groundless and clarified that the facility still remained in a sound condition. In a bid to guarantee safety for people living below the dam after they were put in a state of panic by the report, a thorough inspection has been conducted.
As a result, both the main Sirikit Dam and the saddle dam were found to be secure even though the amount of water had already surpassed 9.43 billion cubic meters or about 99.16 percent of the total capacity of 9.51 billion cubic meters. Since the dam is filling up quickly, the stored water has been released at the rate of 60 million cubic meters per day into the Nan River. However, the move has not caused the river to overflow thus far.
Mr Thanarat then encouraged local residents to remain calm and contact telephone number 0-5544-1840 should they have any concerns regarding Sirikit Dam.
