Thai water agency monitoring Mekong River levels as flooding concerns grow
Thailand’s National Water Command (NWC) has asked the Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRCS) to regularly update the member countries about water levels in the international waterway, amid growing concerns of flooding.
The secretary-general of the Office of National Water Resources (ONWR), Surasri Kidtimonton, who also serves as deputy director of the National Water Command, said on Friday that his agency had made an urgent request to the MRCS following heavy rains in central Laos and northern parts of Thailand.
He said the cumulative rainwater had increased the water levels in the Mekong River, which starts in China and runs through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
The NWC, which houses the secretariat of the Mekong River Commission, has asked the MRCS to closely monitor the river’s water situation and inform member countries regularly so that they can prepare for possible flooding, Surasri said.
“We asked the MRCS to work with Laos and China in managing the water released from their dams into the Mekong River to prevent overflows and flooding,” he said.
The Mekong River Commission, established in 1995, is an intergovernmental organisation for regional dialogue and cooperation in the Lower Mekong River Basin. Its member countries are Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The NWC recently issued a warning of possible flooding in eight Thai provinces located along the Mekong River due to expected increased rainfall between August 10 and 15.
As of Friday, the water levels in the Mekong sections that pass through Thailand’s northeastern provinces were still below the riverbank edge, ranging in height from 0.89 metres in Nakhon Phanom province to 8.20 metres in Chiang Rai.
The ONWR office in the Northeast has closely monitored the water situation in the Mekong and is prepared for possible flooding, Surasri said. The monitoring would continue until the situation returns to normal, he added.
