Floods persisted in five northeastern provinces on Saturday, with five districts in hardest-hit Ubon Ratchathani under extra watch, while water levels in eight other districts have started to recede.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported flooding in Amnat Charoen, Yasothon, Ubon Ratchathani, Roi Et and Si Sa Ket provinces.
In Ubon Ratchathani, 994 villages in 13 districts have been inundated. Five of the affected districts — Muang, Warin Chamrap, Phibun Mangsahan, Sawang Wirawong and Tan Sum — are under extra-close watch. Floodwater in eight other districts — Khuang Nai, Muang Samsip, Lao Sue Kok, Trakan Phuetphon, Don Mot Daeng, Na Yia, Det Udom and Sirinthorn — has begun to recede.
Two recently departed storms, Podul and Kajiki, have caused flash floods, runoff and mudslides that ravaged 32 provinces across the country since Aug 29. A total of 407,069 households in 6,902 villages in 179 districts have been affected.
There have been 32 confirmed deaths linked to flooding in Yasothon (8), Roi Et (6), Amnat Charoen (4), Khon Kaen (3) and Ubon Ratchathani (3), Phichit (2), Si Sa Ket (2), Phitsanulok (1), Mukdahan (1), Sakon Nakhon (1) and Nan (1). One person was also injured in Chaiyaphum, said department director-general Chaiyaphol Thitisak.
The department has worked closely with provincial authorities, military units and other agencies to help affected residents. Water pumps had been installed to drain flood-hit areas, and relief items, food and drinking water have been distributed to affected households.
Soldiers and doctors boarded flat-bottomed boats on Saturday to distribute relief items and treat elderly residents with chronic illnesses of the Kudchum community in Warin Chamrap district of Ubon Ratchathani.
Almost 300 houses in the community were inundated, with floodwater measuring 1-2 metres. Kudchum has been cut off from the outside world with no tap water and electricity for about one week.
More than 100 residents have been sheltering on the top floors of their flooded homes. They said they did not want to evacuate to shelters outside their village as they wanted to guard their belongings.
Ubon Ratchathani is under especially close watch amid worries that overflow from the Moon River would exacerbate the situation in Muang and Warin Chamrap districts, which have already been hard hit.
The two districts are bracing for the worst flooding in 16 years from the approaching water from the swollen Moon River that flows past them to the Mekong River.
The Royal Irrigation Department has deployed 60 water-pushing machines along the Moon River in Phibun Mangsahan district and another 60 in Khong Chiam district to speed up the flow into the Mekong. The Moon flows into the Mekong in Khong Chiam.
Soldiers and doctors board boats to treat sick residents in the flood-hit Kudchum community in Warin Chamrap district of Ubon Ratchathani.