Water pumps have been deployed and soldiers have rushed to help move people's belongings to higher ground as the swollen Phetchaburi River flooded the province's Muang municipality Wednesday.
Schools in the municipality will suspend classes this week to ease the burden on downtown residents who battled flooded roads and steadily rising water.
Municipal officials switched on several large pumps on submerged roads to keep flooding at a manageable level.
Maj Gen Surin Nilluang, commander of the 15th Army Circle, said he sent troops to assist residents in moving their belongings and direct traffic on water-clogged roads.
Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Luck Wajananawat visited the provincial hall on Wednesday to follow up on the flood diversion plan.
According to the deputy minister, the Kaeng Krachan Dam held 773 million cubic metres of water as of Wednesday, or 9% above its storage capacity.
The dam's outflow caused the Phetchaburi River to overflow and swamp low-lying riverside areas in Kang Krachan and Tha Yang districts, he said. However, he added the water level in the dam appears to be dropping.
Mr Luck said irrigation officials are diverting the water approaching the Phet Dam to irrigation canals at a rate of 120 cu m per second. The dam's outflow was capped at 160 cu m per second.
Despite the efforts to contain the water, some low-lying areas of Muang municipality, such as Saphan Lamyai and Saphan Yai, as well as the Phetchaburi Technical College's football field, were under water.
He said sandbags had been stacked up to keep floodwater at bay in other parts of the city centre. Locals were being updated regularly about the flood situation while relief officials and heavy machinery were on standby.
RID director-general Thongplew Kongjun said the Phetchaburi River began flooding four low-lying communities in the municipality at 5am Wednesday. Water was being pumped back into the river.
Twenty-six so-called water-pushing boats were stationed in the last section of the river to accelerate the water flow into the Gulf of Thailand.
In Kanchanaburi, the Kwai Noi River flooded a public park in Thong Pha Phum municipality. Resort and raft owners raced to move their belongings out of their premises.
Vajiralongkorn Dam in the district is increasing its water discharge from 43 million cu m of water per day to 53 million cu m between today and Monday. Another 10 million cu m will be pushed out through the dam's spillway every day.
Dam director Waiwit Saengpanich said the facility, which was at 91% capacity, must accelerate the release of water.
In Nakhon Phanom, officials and relief volunteers used flat-bottomed boats to shuttle people in Ban Phaeng district stranded by floods caused by the Mekong River overflowing.
Flooding affected 600 households in six tambons of the district where at least 3,000 rai of rice fields were submerged. The provincial office said 200,000 rai of farmland have been hit by flooding in the province.
