Heavy Monsoon Rains Cause the Mekong River to Overflow its Banks in Chiang Rai

 

CHIANG RAI -People living along the bank of the Mekong River in Chiang Rai have been told to take precautions against possible overflows of water from river.

In Chiang Saen, water levels on the Mekong River have kept rising in front of the Chiang Saen district office and on Monday morning the Mekong was 6.98 meters above the mean sea level, 68 centimeters higher than the day before.

Water was reported to have flowed over some sections of the river bank in Wiang Kaen, Chiang Khong, Chiang Saen and Wiang Kaen districts and flooded many homes and government offices.

Tassanai Suthapol, the Chiang Khong district chief, called an urgent meeting of local administration officials to keep the situation under watch and prepare to implement the flood evacuation plan. Villages on mountain slopes were told to specially watch for possible landslides.

Mr Tassanai blamed the rising water in the Golden Triangle area on heavy rain and water discharged from the Jinghong dam in China.

Meanwhile, Monsoon floods have affected nearly 100,000 people and killed at least 10 across Karen and Mon states and Bago Region in southern Myanmar, according to government media reports today.

According to the Karen State government, two children and a man died after they abandoned their home in search of shelter and their boat capsized, the Irrawaddy reported.

In Mon State, three soldiers went missing after falling into the floodwaters on Friday. The government declared three of them dead on Sunday after one of their bodies was found near the Yangon-Mawlamyine Highway.

It said the monsoon rains have flooded some 1,000 villages, destroyed roads and bridges, and forced 54,000 people from their homes over the past week.

The National Natural Disaster Management Committee issued evacuation orders on Sunday and said that 163 camps have been set up across southern Myanmar.

Photo’s: Local News2010