Kanchanaburi districts on alert as Lam Taphoen Reservoir overflows
Residents in Nong Prue and Bo Phloi are urged to move belongings to safety as authorities mobilise relief teams and assess damage in three key areas.
- The Lam Taphoen Reservoir has overflowed, placing the Nong Prue and Bo Phloi districts of Kanchanaburi on high alert for flash floods.
- Authorities issued warnings urging residents to move belongings, pets, and vehicles to higher ground and prepare for potential evacuations.
- While the reservoir's water level is stabilizing, downstream communities remain at risk, with officials providing assistance and beginning damage assessments for homes, crops, and infrastructure.
Residents in Kanchanaburi’s Nong Prue and Bo Phloi districts have been urged to remain alert to flash floods around the clock and move belongings to higher ground as water surges over the spillway at Lam Taphoen Reservoir.
The latest update at 10.30am on Thursday (October 15, 2026) showed powerful currents at the reservoir, which lies on the border between Kanchanaburi and Suphan Buri.
The National Broadcasting Services of Thailand in Kanchanaburi reported that the reservoir’s water level had begun to stabilise and fall slightly, although downstream communities remained at risk.
Water flowing into tributary streams is eroding banks and will inevitably flood farmland and homes.
Nong Prue district authorities, the Kanchanaburi provincial administration and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation sent Cell Broadcast warnings at 8.04pm the previous night.
The alerts gave residents time to prepare for possible evacuation and move valuables before the water arrived.
People in low-lying riverside areas, communities beside streams and floodways have been urged to exercise particular caution.
Electrical plugs and appliances should be moved to the second storey or another safe location, while vehicles and pets should be relocated to safety.
Residents must avoid fast-flowing waterways, refrain from playing in the water and never drive through fast-flowing floodwater, as currents can sweep vehicles away and submerge them within seconds.
Nong Prue district chief Chokchai Saensit led assistant district officers, village heads and Volunteer Defence Corps members to visit affected residents, offer encouragement and provide assistance.
He also instructed subdistrict chiefs, village heads and local administrative organisations to coordinate urgent help, prioritising older people, bedridden patients and young children.
Authorities have launched damage assessments covering homes affected by standing water and strong currents, horticultural and field crops, livestock, and roads, irrigation canals and bridges cut off by flooding.
The assessments are intended to support prompt compensation under Ministry of Finance regulations and urgent repairs to restore normal use.
