Thailand eyes developing storms as flooding continues

By DAVID RISING and CHALIDA EKVITTAYAVECHNUKUL
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — As floodwaters persist in areas of northern and central Thailand and have started to hit low-lying areas in the capital, officials are looking warily ahead to developing storms later this month. The Royal Irrigation Department was forced this week to start releasing water from a major dam after it reached capacity, dumping more water into a major artery that flows into the Chao Phraya River, which snakes through Bangkok. At the moment, experts say there doesn’t seem to be any danger of the widespread flooding that hit Bangkok in 2011, though the additional water and higher tides at the end of the week will continue to affect riverside areas. Eight people have died and one is missing so far in the flooding.