Rainy conditions have put many areas in Thailand on alert for flooding with the Songkalia River in Kanchanaburi province already bursting its banks and pushing riverside vendors to onto higher ground.
Four days of heavy rains raised the Songkalia River in Sangklaburi district of Kanchanaburi province over its banks. The rapid waters have entered flooded into restaurants and tourist areas along the river and pushed vendors onto higher ground. A repeat of a severe flood in 2013 is feared by locals with authorities keeping a close eye on the situation and preparing manpower and equipment to aid citizens if the situation turns critical. One concern is that the Uttamanusorn wood bridge will be swept away, as it was on July 28 2013.
In the south, strong winds and rains in Phattalung province have felled trees along public roads such as Petchkasem in Muang Phattalung. A main passage to Hat Yai of Songkla, the loss of both in and outbound lanes of the road resulted in an over 3 kilometer traffic jam that required both police and disaster prevention and mitigation authorities to work together to clear up.
Citizens across the country are being urged to prepare for more rains at this time as a monsoon front is persisting over the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand. Another monsoon system is progressing from Myanmar and upper Vietnam towards Thailand and will dump rain on the north and east of Thailand. Citizens are warned of flash floods and other impacts from heavy rains. SP-EP
All regions told to be on alert as heavy rains to continue
