Sukhothai, 8 Oct - The flood situation in Sukhothai city has begun to improve. Sukhothai Hospital has opened its front doors for all types of vehicles to enter and exit. Meanwhile, the ONWR and the Royal Irrigation Department are mobilizing all measures to reduce the amount of water in the lower Chao Phraya River basin. Yesterday (October 7), the rapidly rising water level caused Sukhothai Hospital to bring in big sandbags to block the water flow in front of the entrance and exit. The latest situation has improved and people can use Sukhothai Hospital as usual. ONWR coordinates with the Royal Irrigation Department to protect the lower Chao Phraya basin. Mr. Surasee Kittimondol, Secretary-General of the Office of National Water Resources (ONWR), said that ONWR is currently coordinating with the Royal Irrigation Department to protect the economic area in Sukhothai city, including the intake of water into the Thung Thale Luang flood retention basin, which currently has a large volume of water. Water drainag e from lowland fields in Phitsanulok and Phichit provinces, especially Bang Rakam fields, where the water volume exceeds capacity, has been reduced by reducing the water discharge from the Sirikit Dam to a rate of 5 million cubic meters per day until October 13 to reduce the volume of water in the Nan River, which will help to drain water from the fields more efficiently. The water in the Ping River basin in Chiang Mai and Lamphun will flow into the Bhumibol Dam in Tak Province, without affecting the volume of water in the Chao Phraya River. It is estimated that the water flowing into the Chao Phraya River in Nakhon Sawan Province will peak tomorrow (October 9) at a rate of 2,500 cubic meters per second. Coordination has been made to use the Boraphet Reservoir to store Nan River water flowing from Phitsanulok and Phichit Provinces before it flows into the Chao Phraya River. The Chao Phraya River will be joined by water from the Sakae Krang River, causing water to flow into the Chao Phraya Dam at a rate of 2 ,700 cubic meters per second, which is expected to be the highest rate of this rainy season. The Royal Irrigation Department will try to maintain the discharge rate at the Chao Phraya Dam not to exceed 2,200 cubic meters per second to prevent impacts on people downstream of the dam as much as possible, except if there is more rain, the discharge rate may be adjusted to not exceed 2,400 cubic meters per second. Mr. Thanet Sombun, Director of the Drainage and Hydrology Office, Royal Irrigation Department, said that tomorrow (October 9), the Royal Irrigation Department will gradually reduce the water discharge from the Pasak Jolasid Dam from 100 cubic meters per second to 50 cubic meters per second. The next day (October 10) it will reduce the water discharge again to 10 cubic meters per second to reduce the amount of water flowing into the Chao Phraya River, which will reduce the impact on the lower Chao Phraya Basin in Bangkok and its vicinity, which will be affected by the high tide from October 13-24. - Th ai News Agency Source: Thai News Agency
