22 provinces still under floodwater; Southern region on alert

BANGKOK, Oct 31 -- Floods in 16 provinces have now receded but people living in 22 other provinces are still suffering from them while rescue officials and concerned agencies in the South have been warned to be on full alert from flood due to expected heavy rainfalls, a senior interior ministry official said Sunday.

Director-General Wiboon Sanguanpong of Prevention and Mitigation Department said the floods that had inundtaed 38 provinces nationwide, except the South, since October 10, had begun to ease in 16 provinces.

But residents of 22 provinces are still confronted with floodwaters, with more than 1.1 million houses under water and over 4.1 million rai (over 1.62 million acres) of farmland with ruined crops ruined, Mr Wiboon said.

He said people living in the three northeastern provinces of Surin, Si Sa Ket and Roi Et, especially those living along the banks of the Mun River, should move their effects and vehicles to higher ground as massive water runoff from Nakhon Ratchasima province which has been badly hit by flood in the past two weeks is expected to flow into the river.

The excessive water is expected to pass through Si Sa Ket and Roi Et provinces in the coming four to five days, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Wiboon ordered his officials in the South to be on alert round-the-clock as heavy rains are expected to hit the region in the next few days.

The South has been spared from the current flooding, considered to be the worst in the past few decades. (MCOT online news)