Flooding in eastern Prachin Buri province worsened yesterday when a long section of a dyke in Kabin Buri district collapsed, sending an enormous volume of water into a nearby district.
A woman and her daughter wade through floodwater in the Santi Songkro community of Arun Amarin, Bangkok Noi district after a high tide caused water from the Chao Phraya River to spill into the community on Wednesday. More than 500 households outside flood embankments have been inundated. APICHART JINAKUL
Soil layers of the Ban Takud Oom dyke in tambon Wang Tal of Kabin Buri district softened and caused a section of almost 40 metres of the dyke to collapse.
A huge amount of water in the dyke rapidly flowed into tambons Ban Hoi, Koh Loy, Ban Koh Daeng and Prachantakham municipality in Prachantakham district.
These areas were already flooded up to a level of about one metre. The spill from the breach in the dyke caused the water level to rise to 1.3m.
Rising floodwaters have also hit state-run Prachantakham Hospital, forcing it to temporarily close. A temporary hospital was set up later at the disaster prevention and mitigation office.
Nopporn Pongpluempitichai, chief of the Prachin Buri public health office, said medical supplies had been moved from the flood-hit hospital to the temporarily hospital.
Prachin Buri governor Jitra Promchutima said more than 700 soldiers from Promyothee military camp and staff from the Vivatpollamuang centre raced against time yesterday to build a sandbag wall along the Prachin Buri River.
The province has set salvaging Kabin Buri district's flood-hit economic area as its first priority, Ms Jitra said.
The governor estimated it would take about four days to drain the area.
Sa Kaeo disaster prevention and mitigation office chief Charas Yaiyue said floodwaters in Aranyaprathet municipality receded by 10cm yesterday.
However, many areas in the district were still under 90-120cm of water and impassable to vehicles.
The Meteorological Department warned of heavy downpours in the Northeast and the East on Tuesday and Wednesday as tropical storm Nari is forecast to move towards the lower Northeast during that period.
Sanya Cheenimit, deputy city clerk at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, said the Chao Phraya River water level was expected to peak at 2 metres in the middle of next week. He told residents outside the flood embankment walls to keep abreast of weather forecasts.