CHAI NAT - People living along the Chao Phraya are feeling the pinch as the water level continues to fall, the river's banks dry out and subside, and their homes begin to slide into what's left of the water.
In Chai Nat province, four riverside houses at Moo 2 village in Muang district have tilted towards the river as the dried out ground beneath them subsides.
The Tha Chai Tambon Administrative Organisation organised assistance from other villagers, who helped evacuate the householders and move their belongings and much of the house structures to a makeshift shelter at the TAO office grounds on Wednesday.
One of the houses belonged to Tassawan Changkid, who shares it with five other people - her parents and children.
''We all went outside after I heard cracking sounds at my house, and we saw tiles begin to fall off the roof,'' the 40-year-old woman said.
Tassawan Changkid watches her neighours help remove her riverside house after it began to collapse in Chai Nat on Wednesday. (Photo by Chudate Seehawong)
Local leaders checked along the banks of the Chao Phraya for three kilometres on Wednesday, and found that in some areas the banks had caved in.
The destruction of the homes followed a warning by Ekkasit Sukdithanaporn, director of the Chao Phraya Dam, on Monday of a possible sudden collapse of the riverbank due to the quick drop of the water level upstream. Moo 2 is located north of the dam.
He repeated the warning on Wednesday and urged all house owners upstream to refrain from repairing their homes on the riverside, saying that the vibrations caused by repairs could lead to a quick collapse of the bank.
The water level at the dam in Sappaya district is already at crisis. It fell below the critical 14 metres above sea level point on Monday and dropped 10 more centimetres on Wednesday to 13.71 metres.
The dam continues to release water downstream at the same rate of 75 cublic metres per second, to prevent salty water moving farther upriver from the mouth of the Chao Phraya, which would salinate the capital's tap water supply.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration checked the water quality on Tuesday and reported increased salt levels from the river mouth in Samut Prakan province to Krung Thon Bridge in the city.
Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said irrigation officials, administrators and soldiers will be ordered to strictly enforce water rationing to ensure an adequate supply for use until next April.