The government is focusing on rebuilding the northern region devastated by flash-floods as water started to recede yesterday.

On his second visit to the region in a week, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is spending the weekend assessing damage. He has identified illegal logging as a main cause of the destruction following the discovery of poached logs swept downhill by the heavy run-off in Phrae.

Heavy rains on Friday and yesterday missed the lower northern region, but the weather bureau has warned that downpours can be expected this week in the upper provinces, including Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

Thaksin is scheduled to return to the capital today. Before leaving for his two-day trip, he expressed his concern about the log-poaching. "I am shocked about the illegal logs and will see for myself the evidence of poaching found at the Mae Man reservoir in Den Chai district," he said, before boarding his flight.

On the first leg of his trip yesterday, he inspected the Phrae city area, Den Chai district and the town of Cho Hae. He was scheduled to visit Uttaradit and Sukhothai today.

"I will focus on the reconstruction and the dispatch of relief, because the drainage of flood water is virtually complete in Phrae and Uttaradit," he said.

In regard to finding the culprits of illegal logging, Sung Men district chief Manathawee Wajanasathien said his investigation might hit a dead end because of the lack of evidence to link the logs to poachers.

Meanwhile, Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority  was ready to cope with flood waters that might arrive from the North.

In response to warnings from  academics about the potential for flooding in the capital, Apirak said the BMA had drained water from major canals, including Saensaeb, Prem Praphakorn and Phra Khanong, as well as 20 "monkey cheeks", or water-retaining areas.

He added that the BMA had closely coordinated with the Royal Irrigation Department to monitor water levels in three major dams: Sirikit, Bhumibol and Pasak Chollasit. Moreover, he said a 70-kilometre temporary dam or levee had been built on the either side of the Chao Phya River to protect inner Bangkok. However, he admitted that his preparations would only be able to cope with rainfall of less than 60 millimetres an hour.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has summed up the flood damage in the five hard-hit northern provinces of Uttaradit, Nan, Phrae, Sukhothai and Lampang as of yesterday.

Inundated areas include 23 districts, 129 tambon and 749 villages. The casualties include 73 deaths and 41 people reported missing. Some 156,236 people were affected by the floods, including 1,040 evacuees. Damaged property includes at least 554 houses, 311 roads, 46 bridges, 73 schools and government buildings and 335,000 rai of farm land.

Normalcy has been restored in Phrae, Nan and Lampang while relief and rescue operations are continuing in Uttaradit and Sukhothai.

Relief workers completed the distribution of supplies given by Their Majesties the King and Queen via the Ratprachasamasai Foundation and those from HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and HRH Princess Srirasmi.

Democrat leader Abhitsit Vejjajiva said the party had set up a Bt20-million fund to help victims.

For relief and rescue of the devastated areas in the North, operations were streamlined in the wake of receding water. In Uttaradit's Tha Pla district, a forensic centre was set up to identify 19 bodies drowned in the run-off. In Sukhothai, a mother gave birth to a boy following a rescue by an Air Force helicopter in Sri Satchanalai district.

The Air Force said Singapore had dispatched three Chinook transport helicopters to assist in distributing relief supplies.