Ayutthaya floodwaters to rise as major dam set to hasten release of water
Residents of six Ayutthaya districts were warned on Monday to brace themselves for a worsening flood situation after Irrigation Department officials decided there was a pressing need for the Chao Phraya Dam to accelerate the release of water.
The urgent warning was issued by Ayutthaya deputy governor Rewat Prasong at 1pm via all channels of communications to district chiefs and community leaders in the districts of Phak Hai, Sena, Bang Ban, Mueang, Bang Pa-in and Bang Sai.
It was directed at people living along the Chao Phraya and Noi rivers.
The areas have already been flooded and, at some locations, the floodwaters are as high as 2.5 metres.
The deputy governor said the Irrigation Department had held a meeting to advise authorities of the urgent need for the Chao Phraya Dam in Chainat to release water at the rate of 2,700 cubic metres per second for seven consecutive days, after the agency had detected that a great deal of upstream water was moving southwards from Nakhon Sawan.
The warning issued by the department stated the new rate of water release would cause the floodwaters and rivers downstream to rise by 30 centimetres, or even more in places.