The Meteorological Department yesterday warned about a Category 3 tropical storm called Higos that is expected to make landfall in Guangdong, China, between today and tomorrow and bring heavy rain to Thailand until Sunday.
Centred about 200 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong at 10am yesterday, the storm was moving west at a speed of about 25km per hour, 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 yesterday and is set to move towards the North and Northeast of Thailand from tomorrow, will trigger a new period of torrential rain from tomorrow until 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, water levels in the Mekong River rose to their highest this year, causing flooding in some areas in northeastern provinces yesterday, said a 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 upstream countries 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 yesterday, said the source.
The average water level in the Mekong River in Nong Khai continued to rise all day yesterday and was measured 34cm higher than during the same period the previous day.
It was the highest recorded rise this year, said the source.
Water levels are also expected to rise even further today, said the source.
In Sakon Nakhon, after a night of heavy rain, a section of the Sakon Nakhon to Phang Khon Road was yesterday morning under about half a metre of floodwater seriously affecting traffic, said another source.
Motorists were warned to be extremely careful when driving along that flooded part of the road, said the source.
The provincial meteorological office also warned that more heavy rain and flooding were likely as a result of the impact caused by Tropical Storm Higos.