
Chiang Mai is still battling to clear a huge pile of garbage almost two weeks after the biggest flood in decades crippled several areas in the northern city.
Workers from the Chiang Mai Provincial Administration Organisation (PAO) and the municipality are able to get rid of 400 tonnes of debris and other garbage every day by transporting it to a dump site in Hod district.
At this rate, all the waste is expected to be cleared from the city within a week, according to Chiang Mai PAO president Pichai Lertpongadisorn.
Chiang Mai suffered some of the worst flooding in its history in the first week of this month. The city started a major cleanup on Oct 7 after the water started to recede.
The flooding left behind about 30,000 tonnes of garbage, about one-thirds of it in the downtown area, according to the municipal office. The trash includes everything from small personal items to furniture and refrigerators, as owners did not have time or manpower to move them to high ground ahead of the surging floodwater from the Ping River.
The flood debris in the city is being moved to a park near the railway station, before it is trucked to the dumpsite in the southern district of the province.
Workers are also busy clearing mud and other debris from roads and other public areas in the municipality.
Mr Pichai assured that the clean-up work would end in time for the coming high season when local and foreign tourists travel to the city.
Hotels in Chiang Mai have already seen a 30% drop in their occupancy rate during the flooded period as tourists either cancelled or deferred their visits.
The Meteorological Department, meanwhile, has warned of more rain to come again to the northern and northeastern regions this weekend.