Pua: In Pua district, floodwaters are gradually receding. Governor Suriya has ordered the mobilization of machinery to expedite restoration efforts and clear roads. According to Thai News Agency, the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives visited the area to monitor the situation and ordered the Royal Irrigation Department to mobilize water pumps, water trucks, and machinery to expedite drainage, clean up mud, restore the area, and clear roads. He also instructed an immediate assessment of agricultural damage to provide assistance according to government regulations. While the peak water volume passed through Nan city last night, continued monitoring of rainfall is still necessary until tomorrow, even though it is expected to decrease.
Mr. Suriya Jungrungreangkit, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and his delegation visited Nan Province to monitor the flood situation and water management following continuous heavy rainfall, which resulted in flash floods and overflowing rivers in several areas. Mr. Witthaya Kaewmee, Director-General of the Royal Irrigation Department, Mr. Noppadol Noipairoj, Director of Irrigation Office Region 2, and other relevant officials reported on the situation.
Mr. Suriya stated that Pua District was one of the most severely affected areas. While water levels are gradually receding, many areas still have accumulated mud from the floods. Therefore, he ordered the Royal Irrigation Department to mobilize 26 water trucks and heavy machinery to help clean up, restore the area, and clear roads so that people can resume travel as quickly as possible. At the same time, the Royal Irrigation Department has deployed water pumps to accelerate the drainage of water from areas that are still flooded.
During the site visit, it was found that mud from the floodwaters had covered many areas, including flowing into people's wells. Therefore, immediate action was taken to clean up the mud and restore the area. Mr. Suriya and his team visited Wat Ban Pong, Moo 2, Chedi Chai Subdistrict, Pua District, to visit affected residents and distributed 100 relief packages to alleviate their initial hardship.
Mr. Witthaya stated that the Royal Irrigation Department has mobilized water pumps to expedite the pumping and drainage of floodwaters from the affected areas. Officials are also closely monitoring water levels and continuously updating the public to help minimize damage to homes, farmland, economic zones, and property.
The Phuping district was also affected by the flooding. The Ministry of Interior requested support in the form of food, so Mr. Suriya ordered the Royal Irrigation Department to set up kitchens to prepare and distribute food to the people in the area, as coordinated by the province.
For agricultural areas, Mr. Suriya instructed relevant agencies to immediately assess the damage in order to provide assistance according to government regulations as quickly as possible, alleviating the suffering of farmers affected by the flooding.
The Royal Irrigation Department reported that the peak volume of water passed through Nan city last night. The water in the Nan River will flow into Wiang Sa district before entering the Sirikit Dam reservoir. Currently, the reservoir holds approximately 65% of its capacity, and there is still about 35% of its capacity left to accommodate more water.
However, even though the peak water volume has already passed through the Nan city area, the situation in Mueang Nan district still needs to be closely monitored because it is an important community and economic zone. In the afternoon, Mr. Suriya is scheduled to visit the N.1 water level monitoring station to monitor the water level in the Nan River and the management of water flowing downstream areas.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department forecasts that the northern region will continue to experience rain until August 21st, although the amount of rainfall is expected to decrease after that. Therefore, it is still necessary to closely monitor accumulated rainfall and the water situation. Mr. Suriya instructed officials to continuously inform and warn the public so that those in at-risk areas can prepare for potentially changing situations.