Thailand adds flood warning for four western Mae Klong basin provinces

What changed on 7 October?

The government warned on Wednesday 7 October that four western provinces could flood: Kanchanaburi, Phetchaburi, Ratchaburi and Samut Songkhram, according to the Bangkok Post. All four lie in the Mae Klong River basin, where rain is forecast to increase from Saturday 10 to Monday 12 October and local dams have to release water.

Warnings issued on 4 October for the Chao Phraya provinces, Phetchaburi, Chachoengsao and the South remain in force. If you are travelling west this month, our Bangkok to Kanchanaburi and Bangkok to Ayutthaya pages set out the train and road options.

Where is flooding worst right now?

Eastern Thailand entered its seventh consecutive day of flooding, the Bangkok Post reports. Water is stagnant in places and high tides in the Bang Pakong River have slowed drainage. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation recorded rising levels in 18 districts across Chachoengsao and Prachin Buri.

• Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya and Suphan Buri: floodwater was receding slowly on the morning of 7 October.
• Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok: drainage is slow, partly because of water arriving from Ongkharak district in Nakhon Nayok.
• Chon Buri: conditions were improving in Phanat Nikhom district.

The government says 19 people drowned in Prachin Buri, and the Interior Ministry puts the national flood death toll since 16 September at 60.

Is Bangkok affected, and what about the Chao Phraya?

Three roads in Bangkok were flooded on the morning of 7 October — Chalong Krung, Lat Krabang and Suwinthawong — with water 10 to 30 centimetres deep, according to the Bangkok Post. Water from the north is entering the Chao Phraya at Nakhon Sawan at 1,915 cubic metres per second, and the government planned to lower the discharge at the Chao Phraya barrage in Chai Nat from 2,500 to 2,400 cubic metres per second that afternoon. No new airport, rail or ferry closures were announced.

For the wider picture, see our rainy season guide for month-by-month rainfall and is Thailand safe for how flood warnings are handled.

How many people are affected?

The Interior Ministry told the Bangkok Post that 51 of Thailand's 77 provinces have been affected since 16 September. Floodwater persists in parts of 28 provinces, including Bangkok, affecting 1.15 million households — a count of households, not of people.