Central dam reaches limit

Central dam reaches limit

Flash floods likely as discharge ramped up

Residents in low-lying areas in the central province of Phetchaburi were warned on Saturday to brace for flash floods with Kaeng Krachan dam expected to reach maximum capacity on Sunday.

Heavy rainfall that hit Phetchaburi and nearby provinces in recent days has caused huge amounts of water to flow into the dam.

The overload of water is likely to run through the dam's spillway despite efforts to speed up the discharging of excess water from the dam for better water management control.

Previously, the dam released 9.3 million cubic metres per day which was later increased by another 3.1 million cubic metres via newly-established syphons and 20 sets of water pumping machines, according to officials.

Somkiat Prajamwong, secretary-general of the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR), said that it is expected that the volume of water crossing over the spillway will flow downstream of Phetchaburi dam over a period of 10 hours before causing the water level of the Phetchaburi River to rise by 2.87-4.51 metres.

"Water will arrive at the city on Monday, and all related agencies are now ready at their stations to deal with the crisis. Members of the public have already been warned to prepare for flash floods. This state of emergency may continue in the province for around two months," Mr Somkiat said.

He said that officials have set up water pumping machines in low lying areas to drain as much water into the sea as possible, together with a mooted plan to use an unfinished waterway for extra drainage if the need arises.

There are five districts that might be hit by flooding. They are Tha Yang, Kang Krachan, Ban Lat, Muang and Ban Laem.

Heavy rain has this year hit the western region which is the main hub for hydropower with three dams in the area. Srinakharin dam and Vajiralongkorn dam, in Kanchanaburi province, are both currently at 80% capacity, while the third, Kaeng Krachan dam, is set to reach full capacity today.

The ONWR plans to speed up draining water from upstream dams so that the dams will have more space to contain more volume of rainfall expected to happen through this month.

People living along and nearby rivers in Kanchanaburi have also been warned about increasing water levels of water after news hit that the Vajiralongkorn dam is going increase its discharge rate during Aug 6-12, to make more space for more water to flow into the dam.

The Thai Meteorological Department has also released a warning to 14 provinces in the northeastern region of possible flash floods and landslides due to the increasing power of monsoon trough which is passing through the region. High alerts regarding potential floods were issued for the area along the Nam Oun River where the water level is high and is likely to affect many villages, including 26 families in Ban Ta Bor in Sri Songkhram district in Nakhon Phanom province.

In Si Sa ket, people living under Hua Na dam which is almost full have been warned of possible flash floods. However, the dam yesterday did not release any water into the low-lying area in order to limit the impact on the current flood situation. The discharge will be done at a better time, said officials.

In Yasothon, the dam in the province has opened its water sluice gate to discharge water due to the increasing volume of water in the Che River. More than 3,900 families in five districts have been impacted by the flood with 40,000 rai of land damaged.

The Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute says heavy rainfall will be seen until tomorrow due to the influence of the southwest monsoon and monsoon trough from Myanmar and Laos, which will increase rainfall in the upper North, the Northeast, the West, the East and the South.

Rainfall is expected to lessen across the country after Friday.

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