Khon Kaen farmers race to harvest paddy as over-capacity dam threatens flooding
Farmers along the Chi River in the Northeast are rushing to harvest rice crops as Ubolratana Dam discharges more water to free up capacity. Farmers were told to be prepared for the possible flooding of paddy fields as they are ready to harvest because Ubolratana Dam in Khon Kaen was increasing its daily discharge to 21 million cubic metres per day. The dam is now deemed to be at 103-per-cent safe capacity. Irrigation Office 6 director Pricha Janthong said people who live near the Chi River should prepare for possible flooding in low-lying areas. “Heavy rain of up to 200 millimetres during the past few days in the upper reaches [above the dam] issued large amounts of water into the reservoir and made the water storage increase beyond maximum capacity,” Pricha said. “We need to discharge more water, from 15 million cubic metres to 21 million cubic metres, starting from today until next week. This is to relieve the flood situation on the upper side,” Pricha said on November 17.
