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A key member of the coalition said the current flooding in Ang Thong province was worse than those seen during the 2011 major flooding because of mismanagement while urging related authorities to divert the floodwater in hardest hit provinces to nearby waterways to spread the load.
“I have witnessed 2 recent major flooding in 2006 and 2011 and I believe the current situation in Ang Thong is worse,” said Paradorn Prisnananthakul, Bhumjai Thai Party’s MP for Ang Thong and spokesman of the party.
He explained during a televised news program that 6 out of 7 districts in Ang Thong have flooded and the floodwater level is more than 1 meter deep.
He said there is flooding in Ang Thong almost every year but this year, some districts that have never been flooded before are now flooding.
The high volume of water came from heavy rain caused by monsoons and storms in the North and Northeast since September. Cold winds from China have pushed heavy rain to the South since last week but the high level of water in rivers and waterways is still causing overflows in many provinces in the Central region.
According to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, more than 460,000 households in 59 provinces were affected by floods between September 28 and October 17. Flood water still persists in at least 30 provinces as of Wednesday.
Surin, Sisaket, Ubon Ratchathani, Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Nonthaburi, Suphan Buri and Prachinburi were the hardest hit provinces based on the number of households that were affected.
Paradorn said one of the reasons for the current situation in Ang Thong was caused by the management of the National Water Command Center (NWC).
He said the center diverts water from the Chao Phraya River to avoid overflows and the water mainly went to 2 other rivers in the west including the Tha Chin River which flow to Suphan Buri and the Noi River which flows through Sing Buri, Ang Thong and Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya.
He said these 2 rivers have taken in water to its full capacity which led to the overflows in the provinces that have been mentioned, including Ang Thong.
Paradon said the move to divert the water from the Chao Phraya River was as expected but he pointed out that some of the water could have been diverted to the east of the Chao Phraya River such as the Chainat-Pasak canal as well.
“The Tha Chin and Noi rivers are taking in around 200 cubic meters of water every second but the Chainat-Pasak canal is only taking in 11 cubic meters per second,” he said.
Paradon urged the NWC, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, to help divert the water from The Tha Chin and Noi rivers to other waterways to allow the high floodwater level in hardest hit provinces to come down.
“People in Sing Buri, Ang Thong and Ayutthaya have been asking whether they have to cope with this crisis level of flooding just because the authorities do not want the floodwater to reach Bangkok or not,” he said.
“If the water management was done like in previous years, the water will be spread to other provinces as well not like the current situation where some people are being forced to live on the second floor of their house while on the other side there is no floodwater at all,” he said.
Paradon said if things continue this way, the floodwater in hardest-hit provinces such as Ang Thong will not subside until a month from now.