Famous waterfalls are drying out

Famous waterfalls are drying out

Thiti Somphi, chief of the Khuean Srinagarindra National Park, inspects the Huay Mae Khanim waterfall in Si Sawat district, Kanchanaburi, on Wednesday. (Photo of the Khuean Srinagarindra National Park)
Thiti Somphi, chief of the Khuean Srinagarindra National Park, inspects the Huay Mae Khanim waterfall in Si Sawat district, Kanchanaburi, on Wednesday. (Photo of the Khuean Srinagarindra National Park)

Well-known waterfalls in the West and the North are drying out as drought continues to ravage 11 provinces.

Three of seven tiers at the Huay Mae Khamin waterfall in tambon Mae Kra Bung of Si Sawat district in the western province of Kanchanaburi, have been dry for about two weeks as the source of water in the Kala mountain range 15 kilometres away has been cut, Thiti Somphi, chief of the Khuean Srinagarindra National Park, said on Wednesday.

The same situation was happening to the Erawan waterfall in the Erawan National Park in tambon Tha Kradan of Si Sawat district, 42 kilometres east of the Huay Mae Khamin waterfall.

Porayut Waiwong, chief of Erawan National Park, said on Wednesday that two streams which joined in the Salorb mountain range continued to supply water to the Erawan waterfall that was eight kilometres downstream from the mountain range. But the flow at the waterfall had dropped by about 60% compared to last year.

Tourists continued to visit Erawan waterfall but if the drought continued for a few more months, it could dry out, he said.

In the North, the flow had almost stopped at the Kaeng Sopha waterfall in Thung Salaeng Luang National Park in tambon Ban Yaeng of Nakhon Thai district, Phitsanulok. Visitors rarely see water flowing and it looked like it was just tiers of rock stretching for about 200 metres.

The waterfall stands in the middle of the Khek River. The condition would normally occur in April.

Chatchai Phromlert, director-general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said on Wednesday that the drought had hit 1,862 villages in 48 districts of 11 provinces.

The provinces affected are Chiang Mai, Phayao, Sukhothai and Uttaradit provinces in the North; Buri Ram, Maha Sarakham, Nakhon Phanom and Nakhon Ratchasima provinces in the Northeast; Kanchanaburi and Phetchaburi provinces in the Central Plain; and Sa Kaeo province in the East.

The Erawan waterfall in Kanchanaburi province (Photo of the Erawan National Park)

The Kaeng Sopha waterfall in Phitsanulok province (Photo by Chinnawat Singha)

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