Privy Councilor follows up on water situation at Royal Irrigation Department

The Privy Councilor followed up on the water situation at the Royal Irrigation Department, with the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives also joining in. The Director-General of the Royal Irrigation Department reported on the causes of severe flooding in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces, as well as water management measures to quickly alleviate the suffering of the people. Mr. Plakorn Suwannarat, Privy Councilor, presided over the monitoring of the water situation and water management in the rainy season of 2024 at the Royal Irrigation Department, with Ms. Narumon Pinyosinwat joining the meeting. Ms. Karawi Sittichivaphak, Director-General of the Meteorological Department, reported on the weather forecast for the late rainy season, which is still rainy. In the past, no tropical cyclone has moved into Thailand. Most recently, Typhoon Yangi, which made landfall in Vietnam and weakened in Laos, did not move to Thailand. However, the low-pressure trough from the weakened storm caused more rain in Thailan d, with heavy rain in some areas, especially in the upper North in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces. As for the direction of Typhoon Bebinca, it will not enter Thailand. The Meteorological Department continues to monitor tropical storms that may form in the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. If a tropical storm enters Thailand in the second half of September, it will move through the Northeast. In October, November, and December, there is still a chance that the storm will move in, but the direction of movement will be lower. Therefore, we will continuously monitor the formation of storms and weather conditions during the rainy season to provide advance warnings. The overall rainfall in the country from the beginning of 2024 to the present is still 4% lower than normal. The rainy season started in May as usual, but the accumulated rainfall has been in August onwards. The second half of September still needs to watch out for heavy rain in some areas. As for ENSO, it is currently in a neutral state for a nother 1-2 months before entering La Niña. The rain that is falling now comes from the monsoon trough passing through the southwest monsoon and the low pressure cell. Mr. Chuchart Rakjit, Director-General of the Royal Irrigation Department, reported that the cause of the flooding in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces was the influence of Typhoon Yangi, which, although weakening in Laos, was still causing heavy to very heavy rain. In Chiang Rai province, the accumulated rainfall for 3 days between 9-11 September 2024 at the Mae Sai District Rainfall Measurement Station was 254.4 millimeters, Mueang District was 155.5 millimeters, and Mae Chan District was 153.5 millimeters, causing the Mae Sai, Mae Kok, and Mae Chan rivers to overflow. In Mae Ai District, Chiang Mai Province, the Fang River overflowed due to the high water level of the Kok River. Currently, in Chiang Rai Province, the rain has stopped. The water volume in the Mae Sai, Mae Chan and Kok Rivers is stable. The flooded areas are 10 sub-districts , 6 districts, covering an area of ??1,200 rai, affecting 613 households. In Chiang Mai Province, Mae Ai Sub-district Municipality has returned to normal, but there is still water in some houses. The district, local administrative organizations and people are spraying and cleaning the roads and houses. The Mae Chai and Mae Maw Rivers are decreasing and can drain into the Fang River faster. The main roads are passable, except for side roads in communities in low-lying areas. The riversides are still flooded, approximately 20-30 centimeters high, but the Fang River at the end is still overflowing the banks. To help, the Chiang Rai Irrigation Project has accelerated the drainage of water into various drainage canals into the Nam Ma River, the Ruak River, and the Mekong River, and has also warned the public about the water situation, arranged for officials to closely monitor and follow the situation in the area, and removed obstacles in the waterways to accelerate the drainage of water into the original waterway s. Machinery and tools have been prepared to support the situation, similar to Chiang Mai Province, which has provided water pumps, hydraulic trucks, water trucks, and relief bags to alleviate the suffering of the people. For the Chao Phraya River Basin, the area affected by the Chao Phraya Dam from the discharge of more than 700 cubic meters per second, which will cause water to overflow in low-lying areas outside the embankment in Ang Thong and Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya provinces. Today, the discharge is 1,248 cubic meters per second, which is lower than yesterday's 1,399 cubic meters per second. It has been adjusted down to be consistent with the amount of water flowing down from the upper part and reduce the impact on the downstream area. However, we still monitor the rain situation that will increase from the monsoon trough passing through the Northeast, lower North, and Central regions. We have planned to manage by accelerating the discharge of water from the lower Chao Phraya Basin to the sea to accomm odate the increased rainfall in the area. In addition, between September 15-20, 2024, there will be a high sea level. Currently, the pumping station on the eastern side of the lower Chao Phraya Basin is using the water discharge from Bangkok to the sea to increase the area to accommodate the amount of water from the rain that will fall from September 13-22. As for water management in the Northeast, the Meteorological Department predicts that there will be more rain, the Department has accelerated the drainage of water from the Chi River to flow into the Mun River and into the Mekong River quickly by controlling the floodgates of all dams in the Chi River. This will prevent the water level from dropping too quickly to prevent the banks from collapsing and to maintain a water level that allows local water pumps to float. In addition, the Department will monitor and prevent flooding in communities in Ubon Ratchathani Municipality, Warin Chamrap Municipality, and Mueang District, Ubon Ratchathani Province by pla nning to reinforce the wall to close the gap at +113.50 meters of the MSL. The original water capacity of 2,300 cubic meters per second will be increased to 3,200 cubic meters per second, increasing the water capacity by another 39%. In addition, the water at Rasi Salai Dam and Hua Na Dam will be drained as much as possible and the floodgates at Pak Mun Dam will be suspended to accelerate the drainage of water from the area. The water situation in reservoirs nationwide has a total water volume of 52,308 million cubic meters of storage capacity, accounting for 65%. However, water is being drained from reservoirs with a large volume of water to create space to accommodate the new rainwater. Source: Thai News Agency