KHON KAEN - Main roads in downtown Muang district of this northeastern province were inundated early Saturday morning following heavy rain.
Continuous downpours hit Muang district from 3am to 5am, flooding Maliwan Road with up to 50 centimetres of water.
Heavy traffic ensued in both outbound and inbound lanes because of the flooding, prompting police from Muang and Ban Phed stations to be deployed to manage traffic heading to downtown areas and Khon Kaen International Airport.
Ban Kok Road also faced severe flooding, measuring 40-60 cm underwater. Municipal officials erected signs to warn motorists against using this route.
Khon Kaen governor Kraisorn Kongchalard reported that the overnight rain was caused by a monsoon ridge moving into the lower North, the upper central region and the Northeast, accompanied by a low-pressure cell over Vietnam and a strengthening southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand.
Rainfall was measured at around 125 millimetres per hour, and floodwaters could not be drained quickly enough, he said.
The water situation is expected to return to normal by Saturday evening, provided there is no more rain, he said.
The governor also advised air travellers to leave for the airport one hour earlier than their scheduled departures to avoid missing flights.