STORMS RAGE
Central and lower north hit hardest
Workmen build flood barriers along the banks of the Chao Phya River to protect historic Wat Chaiwattanaram in Ayutthaya.
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Warnings also for Northeast and South
Riverside areas in the lower North and Central regions were flooded yesterday, as rainwater continued to pour into dams and rivers. In Phichit, more than 1,000 homes in seven districts were submerged after the Yom and Nan rivers overflowed. On Sunday night, a 14-year-old girl died in Sam Ngam district after being bitten by a snake in her flooded home. In Phitsanulok province, some 22,231 people were affected and nearly 4,500 rai of farmland and 194 roads were damaged by flooding. Although the Nan River gradually receded below critical levels, Phitsanulok city council arranged sandbags along the river banks and set up water pumps last night. In Bang Rakam district, HRH Princess Siribha Chudhabhorn gave relief bags to affected villagers. In Anthong province, many areas remained submerged under more than a metre of water. In Lampang, three villages in Thoen district and four villages in Mae Prik district were two metres underwater. Three schools in Mae Prik were closed indefinitely. In Nakhon Sawan's Chum Saeng district, 101 villages with over 10,000 families and some 27,000 rai of farmland were flooded, while five local schools were closed. Lop Buri's Pasak Dam contained 680 million cubic metres of water - over two thirds its full capacity, dam chief Saksiri Yusuk said. If rainfall and northern floods caused water levels to reach critical levels, he would give plenty of warning to potentially affected residents in Phattana Nikhom district, Saraburi, Ayutthaya and Bangkok. Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said the rise in water levels from Thursday to Saturday - due to floodwater from the North and high sea tides - was worrying. He ordered canals to be excavated and for 200,000 sandbags to piled along the banks of Chao Phya and water pumps installed in key areas. The Meteorological Department warned of a depression in the South China Sea expected to trigger heavy rains and floods in Loei, Nong Khai, Nong Bua Lamphu, Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Khon Kaen, Nan, Uttaradit, Phitsanulok, and Phetchabun. Fishermen were warned to be extra cautious in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, where 2-metre waves were forecast Surat Thani was on watch for landslides and ready to evacuate 15,000 residents in Panom district.
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