The floods cover about 175,000 rai, which includes 20,000 rai of agricultural land, with the water about one metre deep on average and up to two metres deep in farmland areas.

Thawatchai Sahachatmanop, head of Suphan Buri Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, said Tambon Bang Ta Then and Tambon Tontan in Song Phi Nong were still affected by floods, while other districts in the province were back to normal. He said the flooding in the district might end by late December, though it could last until February if there were unfavourable factors.

He said the authorities had been using big feed pumps to send the water through canals to the Tha Chin River ever since the flooding began.

The water level in Tambon Tontan is still about 50 centimetres, though some areas are now passable by cars and motorcycles, said Nitaya Soonthornsarntoon, a member of the tambon administrative organisation.

Although the water and power supply is fine, toilets have become a big problem, he said. Villagers whose houses have toilet problems now have to use their neighbours' facilities. The authorities have given out relief packages and drinking water as well as provided metre-high flood barriers in badly flooded areas. Affected residents are also receiving aid from the Thai Red Cross Society and the Provincial Administration Organisation, Nitaya added.

"The big problem now is that the floodwater has started stinking. Villagers want it to go down as soon as possible," he said.

As in Tambon Tontan, water and electricity supplies are fine in Tambon Bang Ta Ten, though some areas are facing toilet problems.

Borirak Boonluephan, a member of Bang Ta Ten Tambon Administrative Organisation, said large areas of the tambon were under water, forcing some residents to live in tents put up for them on roads. The residents now want the water level to be reduced as quickly as possible, he said.

"Another problem is that 50 per cent of the damaged agricultural area is prawn farms in which the villagers invested a lot of money. They can only wait for the water level to drop and for compensation from the government to rehabilitate their farms," Borirak added.

Tiew Ruekhora, 41, a resident of Khokchetluke village in Tambon Bang Ta Ten, said his 70-rai prawn farm had been damaged by the flooding and he could not work on it until the water receded.

"This means I can't sell any prawns this year, so I want the authorities to help me as soon as possible," Tiew said.

Thawatchai, of the disaster management office, said the authorities could do nothing more at present because of the high water level. They can only offer basic assistance to flood-affected residents, such as loaning them boats and sending the "Krau Saiyai Rak" mobile kitchens organised by Her Royal Highness Princess Srirasmi to feed them, he added.

"Now we are surveying the damage. Then we will ask the government to approve Bt100 million to solve the flood crisis," Thawatchai said.

See photos of flooding in Suphan Buri in www.nationmultimedia.com/webblog.

Wannapa Phetdee

The Nation