More rain forecast in North

Parts of six northern provinces are still under water as a result of heavy rain brought by tropical storm Mulan — now downgraded to a tropical depression over Vietnam — the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said yesterday.

The tropical depression, augmented by a monsoon lying across Myanmar, northern Thailand and northern Laos, brought heavy to very heavy rain to the North and Northeast regions of Thailand on Aug 11-14.

A total of 609 villages in 109 tambons and 34 districts of 11 provinces — Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Phayao, Nan, Lampang, Phrae, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Phanom, Loei and Prachin Buri — were flooded, affecting 5,477 households, with one villager reported killed in Chiang Rai.

Some 391 villages in Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Phayao, Nan and Phitsanulok provinces in the North remained flooded yesterday but the water levels were receding.

Heavy downpours in the North boosted water levels in the Chao Phraya River north of the Chao Phraya Dam in Chai Nat district, making it necessary to increase discharges downstream from the dam.

As a result, the water level below the dam rose in low-lying areas in Ayutthaya province and flooded parts of Sena, Phak Hai and Bang Ban districts, affecting about 600 households.

The forecast for today is that the southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand will likely cause sporadic heavy rain in the North and Northeast.