BANGKOK, Sept 16 (TNA) – The Royal Irrigation Department confirmed it would not direct floodwater to low-lying paddy fields in the Chao Phraya river basin and would wait for harvest late this month.
The department said it was still able to control the flow of the Chao Phraya River at the rate of 1,800-2,000 cubic meters per second through the Chao Phraya barrage and it was accelerating discharges into the sea.
Its officials also installed pumps to drain rainwater from paddy fields so that rice farmers could harvest their fields. The department expected harvest would be finished late this month.
In Ang Thong province, floodwater expanded to three districts. The latest one was Muang district which faces the Chao Phraya River. Flood levels exceeded one meter on some locations last night. People had to move belongings to upper floors and commute by boat. Earlier floods reached Pa Mok and Wiset Chai Chan districts.
Floodwater affected 638 houses in low-lying areas without an embankment in Ang Thong and inundated areas were expanding. (TNA)
