Son-Tinh drenches North, Northeast

Son-Tinh drenches North, Northeast

Major dams release water after deluge

Spillway open: Water rushes out of a spillway Wednesday at the Huay Som Hong reservoir in Muang district of Nakhon Phanom as continued downpours caused it to overflow, and flood nearby farms. The Royal Irrigation office has been discharging 500,000 cubic metres of water a day into channels leading to the Mekong River to help keep the water in the reservoir at a safe level as Tropical Storm Son-Tinh unleashes a deluge. (Photo by Pattanapong Sripiachai)
Spillway open: Water rushes out of a spillway Wednesday at the Huay Som Hong reservoir in Muang district of Nakhon Phanom as continued downpours caused it to overflow, and flood nearby farms. The Royal Irrigation office has been discharging 500,000 cubic metres of water a day into channels leading to the Mekong River to help keep the water in the reservoir at a safe level as Tropical Storm Son-Tinh unleashes a deluge. (Photo by Pattanapong Sripiachai)

Tropical storm Son-Tinh, which is gathering in strength over the South China Sea, will bring heavy rain to the North and Northeast until Saturday, the Meteorological Department has warned.

Son-Tinh (Vietnamese for "god of the mountain") packs a maximum sustained wind of 70 kilometres per hour, and was moving westward from the South China Sea at 35km/h, the department added.

The storm made landfall in the upper part of Vietnam Wednesday evening, before causing widespread heavy downpours in some areas of the North and Northeast of Thailand, according to the department.

The ravages of Son-Tinh have been already felt with many reports of flash floods in the provinces. Overnight rainfall in Sakon Nakhon prompted its governor Witthaya Chanchalong to release water from the Nong Han dam, the province's major reservoir.

The district experienced worse last July from flash floods. The embankment of the reservoir was breached, unleashing over a million cubic metres of water on communities and fields.

Nong Han currently receives 13.5 million cubic metres of water a day, Mr Witthaya said.

Officials will release 16 million cu/m of water a day with some diverted to riverside areas in Muang and Khok Sri Suphan districts to reduce the strain on embankments, the governor said.

Irrigation official Mueangphet Siri said 500,000 cu/m of water a day is being released from the Huay Som Hong reservoir in Nakhon Phanom as its level is currently beyond its capacity.

The reservoir was holding more than 3.6 million cu/m of water against its capacity of 2.3 million cu/m.

In other provinces, floods continue to affect residents. In Phitsanulok's Nakhon Thai district, a 300-metre section of the Ban Sam Ru-Huai Hia road was flooded, blocking traffic. Nearly 100 rai of paddy and corn fields were also damaged.

In Khon Kaen's Muang district, strong currents in the Nam Phong River caused landslips, damaging riverside houses, officials said.

In the South, the intensifying southwest monsoon also hit the Andaman Sea, the South and Gulf of Thailand Wednesday.

The department warned villagers in the southern, eastern seaboard and Central Plains regions to prepare for heavy rain that will last until Sunday.

The monsoon could whip up waves up to three metres high so the department urged fishermen to be cautious or even avoid going out to sea if possible.

Since early this week, there have been several marine accidents with three people going missing off Phuket -- two fishermen and one jet-skier.

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