Residents in the North and Northeast have been warned to brace for landslides and flash floods with heavy rain due in the coming days.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has been placed on alert as a large storm front moves across 21 provinces in the regions from tomorrow until Thursday.
wet week ahead: The North and Northeast face potential flash flooding.
Residents who live next to mountains and riverbanks in particular are being advised to take care due to the high possibility of landslides over the coming days.
The Meteorological Department said the heavy rainfall is being driven by a low pressure cell over the North and a strong southwest monsoon prevailing over the Andaman Sea, the Gulf of Thailand and western parts of the South.
Teams are being dispatched to inspect drainage systems, reservoirs and weirs in tourist areas across the affected regions.
Meanwhile, riverside residents in three provinces along the Chao Phraya River have been warned about the possible collapse of the banks due to soil erosion, as water levels in the Chao Phraya Dam continue to fall.
The warning was given to residents of Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani and Chai
Nat provinces.
Ekkasit Sakdeethanaporn, Chao Phraya Dam project director, said water levels upstream of the dam at tambon Bang Luang of Chai Nat’s Sapphaya district had dropped 28cm to 15.33 metres above sea level yesterday.
The water level in downstream areas remained stable at 5.96m.
The dam was maintaining its current discharge rate at 75 cubic metres of water per second (cps), he added.
He said the small volume of water flowing into the reservoir was due to the ongoing lack of rain. Officials in Nakhon Sawan measured the flow into the dam at only 262cps, a sharp drop from 457cps last week. This caused water upstream from the dam to recede rapidly, he said.
As the water continued to recede, he said residents living along the river should be on alert for the possible collapse of river banks.