PHETCHABUN - Workers in the district town of Lom Sak are draining water into the Pa Sak River amid worries that floodwaters could persist or even worsen in the province. Muang district has been added to the list of areas targeted for emergency drainage.
As flooding receded in the Sakon Nakhon municipality, officials have turned their attention to Lom Sak and Muang districts of Phetchabun.
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Several roads in the Lom Sak municipality have been flooded by up to 80 centimetres of water since Saturday night after floods hit neighbouring Lom Kao district.
Phetchabun governor Pibu Hattakitkosol said about 6,500 people were affected by the floods in Lom Sak -- the district linking the northern and northeastern regions -- with many of their houses inundated.
Authorities helped people move to higher ground in Lom Sak, the governor added.
As the high water levels of the swollen Pa Sak river move downstream from Lom Sak, authorities are concerned that Muang district could be flooded next.
Workers and volunteers race against the clock to make sandbags to stave off possible flooding in Muang district of Phetchabun. (Photo from Worapote Chupinich Facebook account)
Phetchabun mayor Seksan Piyompeng said sandbags are being piled along the river bank in Muang district, and people living along the river have been ordered to move their belongings to higher places to prevent possible damage.
Flooding in Phetchabun claimed the life of Poontawee Penparthum, who was electrocuted at his house in Lom Sak.
The height of the Pa Sak river flowing through Lom Sak and Muang districts has now reached a crisis level, warned the National Hydroinformatices and Climate Centre on its website.
The Royal Irrigation Department has raised a red flag, the highest warning level, at the river bank in Muang district.