Mun River floods threaten religious sites
The overflowing Mun River yesterday submerged three districts in Nakhon Ratchasima and threatened to flood the Prasat Hin Phimai, Thailand's largest Khmer sandstone religious sanctuary.
Officials quickly pumped water out of the nearby area as a precaution.The 770,000 cubic metres of water released from Lam Phra Phloeng Dam per day combined with rainfall at the dam's end and caused the Mun River and Chakkarat Waterway to submerge nearly 10,000 rai of farmland in Pak Thong Chai and Chok Chai districts. Phimai district chief Thongsuk Parithamma said the pan-shaped district let water from Lam Phra Phloeng, Lam Chae and Lam Mum Bon dams - all containing 85 per cent of their capacity - run through it before descending into the Chi River. As a result, the worst flood for a decade inundated Phimai's 82 villages, government offices, 60 roads and 26,000 rai of farmland. The area around Phimai Historical Park was under 30 centimetres of water. Officials drained the area for fear the floodwater would cause the Khmer shrine to subside and affect the coming light-and-sound event to be held there from November 8-12. Water also seeped through sandbag embankments around the Phimai National Museum, which houses priceless items including a stone carving of the sleeping Hindu god Narayana. Anan Chuchote, director of the Fine Arts Office Region 12, said he had ordered officials to clear the sewage system and install water pumps and sandbag barriers to save the sanctuary from floodwater. He said the situation was still under control.
|
