The heart of Nakhon Sawan’s Lat Yao district was under 70 to 80 centimetres of water, leaving many of the police stations, bus stations, shops, government agencies and over 100 homes flooded. Locals say they were not able to build sandbag walls in time.

Thousands of rice fields were also swamped in Chumsaeng and Tha Tako districts, because the run-off from upriver caused the Nan River to overflow.

In Nakhon Ratchasima province, the Mitrapab Highway was under 30 to 40cm of water between kilometre markers 91 and 98, causing a severe traffic pileup. Highway officials later used backhoes to dig a channel to drain the water to allow traffic to move.

A smaller road in this Northeast province was impassable for small vehicles as it was under more than a metre of water.

As of press time, many districts in Nakhon Ratchasima were inundated.

“Officials are trying to solve the flooding and the situation at Sikhio district is most worrisome,” Nakhon Ratchasima Governor Vichien Chantaranotai said yesterday.

Vichien said: “Water levels in the province’s major dykes have risen by over 20 per cent.”

In Chaiyaphum province, Bamnet Narong district chief Paitoon Mahachuenjai met with related agencies to discuss flood prevention methods. The district had been hit with severe flooding a few weeks ago.

The Pasak Jolasid Dam in Lop Buri province, which is just a few hours drive from Bangkok, is releasing 500 cubic metres of water per second and people living downstream in Lop Buri and nearby provinces such as Saraburi and Ayutthaya will have to brace for floods.

“Move your belongings to higher ground as a precaution and keep abreast of the latest updates,” Atthaporn Panyochom, director of Lop Buri-based irrigation office, said.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department yesterday forecast heavy downpours over the next 24 hours in many parts of the country including Bangkok.