The Meteorological Department on Tuesday warned about a Category 3 tropical storm called Higos that is expected to make landfall in Guangdong, China, between Tuesday and Wednesday and bring heavy rain to Thailand until Sunday.
Centred about 200 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong at 10am on Monday, the storm was moving west at a speed of about 25k/h, said the department in a second warning issued about the storm.
The impact of this tropical storm, coupled with the impact of a monsoon trough that lay across Myanmar, North Laos and North Vietnam on Monday and is set to move towards the North and Northeast of Thailand from tomorrow, will trigger a new period of torrential rain from Tuesday to Sunday, said the department.
All members of the public are being advised to closely monitor weather warnings from the department on its website or via the department’s weather forecast 1182 hotline.
In related news, levels of water in the Mekong River passing the northeastern provinces on Tuesday rose to this year’s highest, blamed for causing flooding in some areas, said an informed source.
The high water levels in the Mekong were believed to be a result of continued heavy rain in the North of Thailand and neighbouring countries upstream over the past several days, said the same source.
In Nong Khai, at least four houses in Muang district were flooded as excess water failed to drain from small rivers into the Mekong fast enough and began flooding riverside areas at about 2am on Tuesday, said the source.
The average water level in the Mekong River in Nong Khai continued to rise all day on Tuesday and was measured at 34cm higher than that in the same period on the previous day, the highest rise that has occurred this year, said the source.
Water levels are also expected to rise even more on Tuesday, said the source.
In Sakon Nakhon, after a night of heavy rain, a section of the Sakon Nakhon to Phang Khon road was Tuesday morning covered with water about half a metre high, affecting traffic on the road, said another informed source.
Motorists were therefore warned to be extremely careful when driving through that flooded part of the road, said the source.
The provincial meteorological office warned that heavy rain may continue as a result of Higos’ impact.