Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday instructed provincial authorities to press ahead with a water catchment project touted as an essential tool for comprehensive water management.
In a one-hour meeting with governors of 17 northern provinces in Phitsanulok during the flood inspection, Gen Prayut said the officials should hold talks with landowners in their respective provinces to use their plots as water catchment areas.
He said water retention zones are needed in the Yom River basin, especially in Phitsanulok and Sukhothai, and urged officials to find measures to capture and make use of the flood water rather than draining it into the sea.
Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said the provinces must coordinate closely with the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) in managing water resources.
"The priority is to divert the water to places where it can be drawn for use later during the dry season," he said.
After the meeting, Gen Prayut visited flood victims in Wang Thong district and proceeded to inspect water drainage at Hat Saphan Chan sluice gate in Sukhothai's Sawankhalok district.
In Sukhothai, damaged dykes along the Yom River in Muang district are being reinforced to prevent flooding in the area.
"Workers have been toiling around the clock to reinforce nine locations along the river with sandbags," said governor Maitree Traisilanant on Wednesday.
The move comes after a dyke in Ban Lat Sai Moon, tambon Pak Phra collapsed on Tuesday evening, submerging two villages in Muang district with flood water.
The flood caught residents of Moo 2 in tambon Pak Phra and Moo 5 in tambon Yang Sai off guard, and many were unable to move their valuables to safety on higher ground.
Officials said that the breach was first reported at 6pm on Tuesday, and within an hour the water's depth had exceeded one metre.
In Ubon Ratchathani, a section of Highway 2050 linking Don Mot Daeng district with Trakan Phuetphon district was closed after a 3km stretch in Ban Yang Kradao in tambon Tha Muang was submerged under 50 centimetres of water.
More than 2,800 households in 16 districts were affected by flooding which has damaged more than 21,000 rai of farmland.