BANGKOK, Oct 8 — Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi said on Tuesday that the flooding situation in many areas of Thailand is controllable and starting to improve.
Mr Plodprasop, in his capacity as the head of the Water and Floods Management Committee (WFMC), said that in central Thailand, Ayutthaya’s flood waters have started to recede, while the Pa Sak Cholasit Dam in Lop Buri has reduced its water discharge.
Low lying areas in Ang Thong and Ayutthaya provinces will be inundated only for a short period as well as Pathum Thani province, if there are no heavy rains and high tide of seawater over the next few days.
Mr Plodprasop, however, expressed concern regarding eastern Prachin Buri, Sa Kaeo and Chachoengsao provinces which are struggling to drain runoff from the Phanom Dong Rak and Khao Yai mountain ranges.
He said that the Prachin Buri River has the capacity to handle 750 cubic metres per second but the water flow has now reached 900 cubic metres per second, flooding Aranyaprathet district.
The floods, however, should recede if there is no heavy rain over the next few days, he said.
Meanwhile, water drainage will be accelerated through the Prachin Buri-Bang Prakong River and part of the water will naturally flow to neighbouring Cambodia.
Mr Plodprasop was confident that the flood situation in Eastern Thailand will improve over the next 3-4 days and should not exceed 10 days, saying there have been no delays in the water committee’s working procedures.
He said although the flooding situation is not as bad as in 2011, certain provinces such as Prachin Buri now face their worst flooding in a century due to heavy rain at sites above and below the dam.
