Rescue workers evacuate people from the flooded Hop Inn in Muang district of Sakon Nakhon.
Rescue workers evacuate people from the flooded Hop Inn in Muang district of Sakon Nakhon.
Tropical depression "Sonca" has lashed Sakon Nakhon, leading to the worst floods in the northeastern province for two decades. Flooding persisted across the Northeast.

Severe floods continue

Flooding persisted across the Northeast and some central provinces, with one death attributed to flooding in worst-hit Sakon Nakhon, as heavy rain continued on Saturday.

18 districts of Sakon Nakhon have been inundated, with water levels ranging from 70 to 200 centimetres. People in some residential areas and critically ill patients at Tao Ngoi Hospital in Tao Ngoi district were evacuated.

One person was killed in Kut Bak district and two were reported missing in Muang district in the worst flooding to hit the northeastern province in two decades.


In Khon Kaen, blind students were evacuated from their school where one metre of water covered the property in Muang district. However, water levels were stabilising overall.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, an earth weir burst and flooded about 10,000 rai of residential and farm properties in 151 villages of Prathai district.



An aerial view of central Sakon Nakhon province on Saturday.
© Prasit TangprasertAn aerial view of central Sakon Nakhon province on Saturday.
In Kalasin, 15 of 17 districts were flooded and about 500 houses in the provincial centre were inundated.

In Nakhon Phanom, tributaries of the rising Mekong River overflowed onto about 2,000 rai of farmland and riverside communities.

In Chaiyaphum, runoffs ranging from 1-2 metres deep affected thousands of residents and tens of thousands of rai of farmland in Bamnet Narong and Kaeng Khro districts.

Central Kalasin
© Yongyuth PupuangpetCentral Kalasin
Bamnet Narong district, Chaiyaphum
© Makhawan WannakulBamnet Narong district, Chaiyaphum
In the Central Plains, runoff hit parts of Dan Sai district of Phetchabun. In Sukhothai, soldiers repaired punctured floodwalls and worked to alleviate flooding in Muang district.

In Ayutthaya, irrigation officials increased the discharge rate from the Rama VI dam to prepare for a rapid increase in inflows from Lop Buri, Chaiyaphum and Saraburi upstream.

Officials at the Chao Phraya dam in Chai Nat were doing the same to cope with faster inflows from upstream locations.


Technicians and experts inspect the flooded Sakon Nakhon airport on Friday for damage to the electric power system and other infrastructure
© Department of AirportsTechnicians and experts inspect the flooded Sakon Nakhon airport on Friday for damage to the electric power system and other infrastructure