Ayutthaya villagers plead for floods to be redirected after weeks underwater

Mackerel vendor Laddawan told Reuters on Thursday that her house in Bang Ban district has been flooded for over a month, and she and her family have been suffering annual inundations for years.

Bang Ban is located in the Chao Phraya river basin and is prone to flooding every year following seasonal monsoon rains. Runoff flowing downriver from the north of the country is diverted into the area to protect the historic ruins of Ayutthaya, a Unesco world heritage site and world-famous tourism destination.

"I want to plead for sympathy and for those in dry areas to share some of our burden too,” said Laddawan. “Those of us living in the basin area cannot take it anymore. Please release water to other areas too. We can cope with a minor flood, where we can still travel around on the roads."

Village headman Natthawut Mondopyai said Bang Ban locals are having to travel 3-4 kilometres by boat to reach the nearest highway.

According to the Interior Ministry, 27 provinces in the North, Northeast and Central Region have faced intermittent flooding since storm Noru swept through Thailand last month, swamping 224,687 households and killing four people.

While this year's seasonal flooding is less severe than the 2011 natural disaster that left large parts of Thailand underwater, the government has prepared 23 billion baht for assistance and rehabilitation.