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With Sukhothai municipality still under water and seasonal flooding reaching as far as some districts of Ayutthaya, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is making no promises of a flood-free Bangkok area this year.

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Morning update: Workers in Sukhuthai have managed to finish that line of big sandbags and rock-filled gabions we read about yesterday, just in time for PM Yingluck's visit. The water coming into the town has been reduced and a huge pumping effort has started. Officials are hopeful the town will be largely dry by tomorrow, but much work remains.

Viewed from ground level yesterday, cutting off the flow of water from the Yom River into Sukhothai municipality seemed an impossible task, but viewed from above, workers were clearly making progess. PHONGTHAI WATTANANIVUT

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PM makes no flood promises

Flooding has already started in nearby Ayutthaya province. Workers were unable to prevent flood waters from enter this temple in amphur Sai Noi of Bang Ban district in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya . SUNTHORN PONGPAO

With Sukhothai municipality still under water and seasonal flooding reaching as far as some districts of Ayutthaya, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is making no promises of a flood-free Bangkok area this year.

It all depends on the rain, she admitted yesterday.

Thus, the Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani residents severely hit by floods last year face the prospect of being battered by another deluge this year if there are torrential rains.

She said the government is trying to control the volume of water released from dams and reservoirs.

The prime minister also gave an assurance that drainage in the east and west of Bangkok is more efficient than last year. She also encouraged people living along river banks to help the government monitor the flood situation.

Sanya Cheenimit, director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) Department of Drainage and Sewerage, yesterday advised the city's 50 district offices to be on a full alert for possible flooding following a Meteorological Department warning of heavy rainfall in all regions of the country from tomorrow until Monday.

He stressed the need for the district offices to issue flood alerts to 27 communities located outside the city's flood walls along the Chao Phraya River.

If rainfall is recorded at more than 100 millimetres a day, drainage efforts could take several hours, Mr Sanya warned.

He said the BMA has lowered water levels in canal networks to prepare for run-off and the city is ready to rise to the challenge of solving flood problems in Bangkok.

City Hall has built its own giant tunnel linking Rama IX and Ramkhamhaeng roads. The 5km tunnel, 5m in diameter, which opened in February last year, can drain water at 60 cubic metres per second.

Adapted from a story in today’s Bangkok Post. You can read the full story, much longer story, here: http://bit.ly/QdH8cO

gabions – boxes, cages or cylinders with rocks, concrete or sometimes sand and soil that are used in civil engineering, road building and often to strengthen river banks or shorelines หลัวรูปทรงกระบอกที่ใช้ใส่ร่องหินสำหรับวางฐานในการสร้างเขื่อน
reduce – to make something smaller or less in amount, size, importance etc ลดลง
flow – the continuous movement of a liquid in one direction การไหล
municipality – a town, city or district with its own local government เทศบาล

Coming soon: Thailand submerged, the Bangkok Post's coverage of the Great Floods of 2011 with special help for English language learners, including vocabulary, Thai explanations and sound files.

task – something that you have to do หน้าที่; ภารกิจ
seasonal – typical of or suitable for the time of year ตามฤดูกาล
depend on – according to; affected by things that happen ขึ้นอยู่กับ
admit – to agree that something is true, especially when you are unhappy, sorry or surprised about it  ยอมรับ
thus – as a result of something just mentioned ดังนั้น
residents – people who live in a particular area ประชาชนที่อาศัยในท้องที่
severely – very seriously อย่างรุนแรง
prospect – the possibility that something will happen  โอกาส
battered – hit hard many times ถูกตีติดต่อกัน, ถูกทำลายยับเยิน, ถูกโจมตีติดต่อกัน,
deluge – a sudden flow of a large amount of water; a sudden, very heavy rainfall น้ำปริมาณมาก ฝนตกหนัก
torrential – (of rain or moving water) extremely heavy ซึ่งไหลเชี่ยว
volume – an amount of something ปริมาณ
release – to allow a substance to flow out from somewhere ปล่อย
reservoir – a natural or artificial lake where water is stored อ่างเก็บน้ำ
assurance – a promise; a guarantee  การรับประกัน, การรับรอง
drainage – the process of taking away of water or other liquids from an area  การระบายน้ำ
efficient – effective and well organized (the opposite is inefficient) มีประสิทธิภาพ
encourage – to cause someone to have more confidence or hope about something ทำให้มีกำลังใจ
bank – a raised area of land along the side of a river  ริมฝั่งแม่น้ำ
monitor – to regularly check someone/something จับตาดู เฝ้าระมัดระวัง
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) – the local government of Bangkok กรุงเทพมหานคร
Department of drainage and sewerage – The Bangkok city department in charge of draining rainwater and maintaining the city's sewer system สำนักการระบายน้ำ
advise – to tell somebody what you think they should do in a particular situation แนะนำ, แจ้ง
alert – prepared to deal with something dangerous ตื่นตัว ระวัง
Meteorological Department – the government department in charge of determining what the weather will be in the future กรมอุตุนิยมวิทยา
region – a large area of land, usually without exact limits or borders  ภูมิภาค, บริเวณ
stress – to emphasise something such as an idea, fact or detail; to explain why something is important เน้น
issue – to announce something officially ออกประกาศ
community – the people living in one particular area ชุมชน
located – where something is ตั้งอยู่
level – the amount of liquid that there is in a container, river, dam, etc., which can be seen by how high the liquid is ระดับ
network – a large system of connected parts, organisations, people, etc. เครือข่าย
run-off – rain, water or other liquid that runs off land into streams and rivers น้ำหลาก
challenge – something that needs a lot of skill, energy, and determination to deal with or achieve สิ่งที่ท้าทาย, การท้าทาย
rise to the challenge – meet the challenge; to deal with a difficult problem or situation successfully ประสบความสำเร็จกับสถานการณ์ที่ยากลำบาก
solve –  to successfully deal with a problem or difficult situation  แก้ปัญหา
City Hall – a city government, in this case, the Bangkok city government  กรุงเทพมหานคร
tunnel – an underground passage อุโมงค์
link – to connect เชื่อม 

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