Parts of six northern provinces are still under water as a result of heavy rain brought by tropical storm Mulan - now downgraded to a tropical depression over Vietnam - the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported on Sunday.
The tropical depression, augmented by a monsoon lying across Myanmar, northern Thailand and northern Laos, brought heavy to very heavy rain to the North and Northeast regions of Thailand during Aug 11-14.
A total of 609 villages in 109 tambons and 34 districts of 11 provinces - Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Phayao, Nan, Lampang, Phrae, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Phanom, Loei and Prachin Buri - were flooded, affecting 5,477 households. A villager was reported killed in Chiang Rai.
On Sunday morning, 391 villages in 25 districts of Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Phayao, Nan and Phitsanulok provinces in the North were still flooded but the water levels were receding.
Heavy rains from tropical depression Mulan caused flash floods on Saturday, with towns at the Thai-Myanmar border submerged after rising water levels breached an earthen dam in Myanmar's Shan State, local media reported.
The flood water, which had mostly receded on Sunday, inundated more than 2,000 households in Mae Sai township in Thailand's northern Chiang Rai province as well as Myanmar's Tachilek border town, local media Thai PBS reported.
The mayor of Mae Sai said an earthen dam located 37 kilometres north of the border was breached since Friday, causing waters of the Sai river to rise rapidly and triggering the flood.
"The dike along the river that used to keep water levels under control were breached and water overflowed into the streets and people's homes," Mayor Narongphol Kid-arn said.
"In some parts, the water was at waist and chest levels," he said.
Flooding in Ayutthaya
Heavy downpours in the North added water into the Chao Phraya river north of the Chao Phraya Dam in Chai Nat district at the rate of 1,400-1,600 cubic metres per second, making it necessary to increase discharge downstream from the dam by 1,000-1,400 cubic metres per second.
As a result, the water level below the dam had risen by about 0.20-0.60m in low-lying areas in Ayutthaya province and overflowed, flooding parts of Sena, Phak Hai and Bang Ban districts and affecting about 600 households.
Disaster prevention and mitigation offices in the provinces have been instructed to work closely with local administrations to assess the damage in areas where water had receded and provide assistance to the affected people in line with the Finance Ministry's regulations.
People in need of help can call hotline number 1784 around the clock. They can also follow disaster warnings via the THAI DISASTER ALERT app.
According to a weather forecast, on Sunday and Monday (Aug 14-15) the southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand - together with the low pressure wedge over northern Vietnam and the Tonkin Bay - would likely cause sporadic heavy rain in the North and Northeast. Waves in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand would be about 1m high, and more than 1m high in areas with thunderstorms.
From Aug 16-20, there would be more rain in every part of the country, the forecasters said. Waves in the upper parts of the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand would be 1-2m high, and over 2m high in areas with thunderstorms. In the lower Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand, waves would reach a height of about 1m, and over 1m in areas with thunderstorms.
