Greater Bangkok 'faces higher risk of floods'

High tide slowing down drainage rate

- POST REPORTERS

Nakhon In Road in Nonthaburi is flooded as water levels along the Chao Phraya River rise. More floods have been forecast across the Chao Phraya River basin as authorities prepare to release more water from the Chao Phraya Dam in Chai Nat in light of recent rains.

(BANG KRUAI POLICE STATION)

Bangkok, along with some parts of Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi provinces, face higher risk of floods over the next several days as authorities increased the water discharge rate of the Chao Phraya Barrage in Chai Nat in the wake of recent rainfall, warned the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Gistda).

The warning comes after the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) late on Saturday increased the discharge rate from 2,750 to 2,800 cubic metres per second to accommodate heavy inflows from northern rivers swollen by the remnants of Tropical Storm Kalmaegi.

This will cause water levels along the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries to rise, heightening the risk of floods in low-lying riverside communities, Gistda said.