Water to rise for a week or more yet

Flooding looks set to drag on for weeks in many central provinces as the water level in the Chao Phraya River is expected to swell up by between 10 and 15 centimetres per day until the middle of this month.

"We have to monitor the situation closely in the Chao Phraya basin," Disaster Mitigation Directing Centre director Panu Yamsri said yesterday.

Up to 2,800 cubic metres of water per second flowed past the Chao Phraya Dam yesterday.

The river has already overflowed in some low-lying areas.

Chai Nat Governor Jamlong Phosu said flooding had already ravaged 22,000 rai (3,520 hectares) of farmland in his province.

In Ayutthaya, flood water was nearly 2 metres deep in some areas. In Angthong, farmers were rushing against time to harvest yields from paddy fields before flood waters swept in.

Authorities earlier warned that rice farmers in the Chao Phraya basin would have to bring in their harvest by Saturday or it would be too late.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra led a team to visit the flooded province of Chai Nat, and ordered authorities to dredge waterways quickly to push surplus water out of the Central region as soon as possible.

She also recommended that some areas be used for water-retention purposes.

Asked whether repeatedly flooded areas would be turned into water-retention areas and local people evacuated, Yingluck said: "Surveys will be conducted. If any area has to be used for water retention, authorities will find new areas for [evacuees]".

The House of Representatives' ad hoc committee on solutions to flooding and water-resource management yesterday set up five subcommittees to conduct a study on flooding and drought.

The five subcommittees each will take charge in the North, the Northeast, the South, the Central region, and Bangkok.

The ad hoc committee will also talk to representatives from the Royal Irrigation, Water Resources, and Public Works and Town and Country Planning departments today.

According to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, flooding is still ravaging 12 provinces, with up to 460,000 people struggling with the high water.

Flood-related deaths have risen to 69.

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn yesterday granted three 12-seat boats to flood victims in Phitsanulok's Bang Rakam district. Locals there have been suffering from the flooding for months.

Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has instructed soldiers to provide help to flood-hit people.