La Nina may spur more floods

La Nina may spur more floods

A family walks in the floodwater at Wat Sa Kae in Pathum Thani's Sam Khok district. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
A family walks in the floodwater at Wat Sa Kae in Pathum Thani's Sam Khok district. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

The Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) has warned the public to brace for the effects of two major regional storms later this month.

ONWR secretary-general Somkiat Prajamwong, who is also a director of the National Water Command Centre, said one or two storms are expected shortly after Oct 10, but that neither will hit Thailand directly.

While he did not expect them to significantly impact water levels in the country, the Thai Meteorological Department has forecast more rain in the South after next week due to the influence of the complex weather pattern known as La Nina.

Looking back, satellite images show Sukhothai was the worst hit of 19 provinces from Sept 20-26, with over 362,000 rai of land inundated with water.

From today until Friday, water will be drained out of the area before the next round of rain arrives, Mr Somkiat said.

Meanwhile, the Pasak Jolasid Dam will reduce its discharge rate from 1.2 billion cubic metres per second (m³/s) on Oct 8-9 to ease pressure on the Pak Sak River.

The ONWR also pledged to resolve such water-related issues within 20 days, he said.

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