The Sai River overflowed in Chiang Rai province on Tuesday, flooding communities and the Sai Lom Joy market in Mae Sai border district.
Runoff from heavy rain in the area sent a huge volume of water flowing into the Sai River, causing it to overflow and flood communities along the border with Myanmar.
Videos posted on social media showed flooding in Koh Sai and Mai Lung Khon communities, in downtown Mae Sai and Sai Lom Joy market, and in Ta Lor market in Myanmar’s Tachilek border township.
Warayut Khomboon, chief of Mae Sai district, attributed the flooding to heavy rain in nearby Myanmar, in the headwaters of the Sai River.
The Highways Department had earlier created a river bank protection line to prevent flooding at the Thai-Myanmar bridge. This required the removal of old walls and sandbags, allowing floodwater to easily overflow into both sides of the border, he said.
The bank protection line is a joint project with Myanmar, intended to prevent flooding along the border. It involves dredging about 20 kilometres of the Sai and Ruak rivers, an informed source said.
Flooding in Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai, on Tuesday. (Photo: Public Relations Office Region 3, Chiang Mai)