Mekong Flooding Now!

[SilverhawkUSA]

2008

Heavy rains and flooding are forecast for Northern and NE Thailand. The Mekong is overflowing it's banks.

Here are some photos sent to me from David and Mai who live in Chiang Khong. The ferry service is not running and David says trucks are backed up waiting for it to resume. I don't think I would chance taking a bike across on a small boat now

These are of the ferry boat crossing and the Immigration Office taken on 11-Aug-2008.

The following taken on 12-Aug-2008

Hear is the turnoff to Phu Chi Fa leaving Chiang Khong

You can check the levels and forecasts on the below websites.

Regional Flood Management and Mitigation Centre

Regional Flood Management and Mitigation Centre

They say the river should be at it’s crest and start to go down at Chiang Khong tomorrow, but Vientiane and Luang Prabang are above flood stage now and still rising. Some GT-Riders are headed that way or in the area now and should be able to provide more info.

 

[beddhist]

Dang! You beat me to it. But it's just as well, as yesterday the counter tops were still above the water line.

We went around the northern Mekong loop (off the 1129) and the water was 1m below the road. Seeing that in your later pix the water is up to the roof line I would say that road is now under water.

There is a resort there near the top of the loop and the owner pointed to his meeting room. The roof line was under the water. More bad planning, me thinks...

 

[dogito66]

cheers for the update on the border situation!!!
we actually planned to cross over to laos at this point in about 5 days...
maybe better to wait for a while!

thanks again

darius

 

[SilverhawkUSA]

More>>>

LOEI, Aug 13 -- Heavy rains continued to hit northern and northeastern Thailand on Wednesday, pouring water from many tributaries into the mainstream Mekong River, with the weather department issuing a warning that more rain is on the way due to a low pressure system passing the regions from neighbouring Laos.

The Mekong River early Wednesday overflowed its banks here and in at least two other districts in this northeastern province are now under floodwaters measuring some 50-70 centimetres in depth.

Six houses in a village in Chiang Khan district were destroyed and several roads damaged.

Relief workers helped local residents to move their valuables to higher ground.

The Meteorological Department station in Loei said current heavy rains resulted from a weather system trough of low pressure across northern and northeastern Thailand. Heavy rains will cause the water levels in the Mekong River as well as other rivers to continue rising and people living near the banks should be on alert for flash floods.

In the northernmost province of Chiang Rai, the flooding situation remained critical as the water level in the Mekong River receded only slightly while a section of the road linking Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong districts was still under water over 50 centimetres deep.

A port in Chiang Saen was closed due to the sharp rise of water volume in the river and goods loading or unloading into boats had to be conducted manually by dockside labourers. (TNA)

Mekong water levels flood Nong Khai

The water level of the Mekong river in Nong Khai province this morning exceeded critical height and has begun to pose a threat of flooding. The Hydrology Survey Center of Nong Khai measured water levels at 13.19 meters today, an increase of 34 centimeters from yesterday and the highest recorded level in 42 years, exceeding a previous record flood high of 13.12 meters.

The Department of Water Resources reports that water levels in northern province Loei remain high and will thus contribute to a constant rise to the Mekong further south. Seventeen schools have been shut down following flood situations in 4 districts of northern provinces.

The governor of Nong Khai has ordered the opening of a temporary shelter for those afflicted by the flood.

 

[beddhist]

I won't bore you with more pix from the Chiang Khong border, but I do want to share a couple with you from that resort up north. Very nice, lunch by the river, watching things go by. But, before we sat down to lunch I got accosted by this very colourful bug:

When it flies it shows very nice blue and white, its body is bright pink. Once it landed on my hand it started poking my skin with its proboscis, seemingly getting high on whatever it found there. Su called me down to the river to show me what happened to the meeting room. The bug stayed put and was quite hard to get to move in the end. Anyway, here is the meeting room:

Another bit of bad planning. Judging by Colin's later pix from the border there won't be much of the roof line showing any more now and the road we travelled on must be flooded now, too.

 

[DavidFL]

beddhist wrote: I won't bore you with more pix from the Chiang Khong border, but I do want to share a couple with you from that resort up north. Very nice, lunch by the river, watching things go by.

..................Anyway, here is the meeting room:

Another bit of bad planning. Judging by Colin's later pix from the border there won't be much of the roof line showing any more now and the road we travelled on must be flooded now, too.

Beddhist
Is this the Rai Saeng Arun resort you're talking about??

Mentioned here
https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorc ... t4099.html

 

[beddhist]

Yep, the very same one. Sorry, I didn't have your new map at hand when I wrote this, but that's how we found it in the first place. The water level in my picture corresponds with the passport counter at Chiang Khong just above the water line. Which means, judging from the later customs house pix, that the next day the roof would have been almost completely submerged and the road at one point was very likely also (just) under water.

 

[Rhodie]

An update to David & Mai's as well as Beddhist's remarkable pictures.

Yesterday at Rai Saeung Arun Resort the waters had receded considerably;
but they were clearing up, salvaging what fittings they could - though the silt was deep in parts on the decking.

In spite of their difficulties the charming couple were gracious hosts & served up some of the best chicken & rice we have ever tasted.
The herb & vegetable garden was untouched & accounted for the delicious food.
If you are looking out for a lovely place on the river to chill out you could not get better.
The chalets on stilts were untouched and the service is first class.

Further south we pulled into Huai Sai Mann viewpoint you can see the reddish brown areas where fields of maze were wiped out by the floods.
I see the press are calling it this the highest the Mekong has been for a century...

Nearby some lads were having a pungent lao-lao sundowner

In Chiang Khong The customs offices have been scrubbed clean & ferry service has been resumed.

Further south the GT Riders' favourite pie stop[Charoen Resort along 118] is as popular as ever.

Though the Valet Parking still needs to be perfected.

 

[erg]

Thanks for letting me register on to this side, very nice pics, hope to contribute in the near future.
erwin

 

[DavidFL]

August 2015 - 7 years on from 2008 flood - a view of Rai Saeng Arun from the Lao side.
View attachment 86550

View attachment 86551

 

[DavidFL]

2018 and ten years on from the 2008 flood & the Mekong is flooding downstream from Nong Khai.

The 'Khong in Chiang Khong is up, but nowhere near as bad as 2008.

Some pictures from today 30 July 2018.

as you can see it still has a way to go, to get to the 2008 flood level.

2008 below

 

[DavidFL]

 

[Dodraugen]

But we still have August and September, the heaviest rain months left.... Anyway - cross my fingers for a no repeat of 2008 and 2011.

 

[ianyonok]

Some pics from Chiang Saen, 30th July 2018. 1" of rain the night before.

The Kam river near it's mouth into the Khong, just south of Chiang Saen..

The Kok river mouth a bit further to the south.

Views from Wat Prathat PaNgow mountain.

The Kam river mouth below.

Looking east to the Kok river mouth.

Looking west. The island in the river bend off Chiang Saen town, looks a bit smaller....

The marker is the T junction at the river in Chiang Saen, During the 2018 flood, We saw 10.5m. Now 6.75m. Low water dry season can be 2m.

The pontoons at the town port are coming up to horizontal.

06:00 31st July 2018.

Another inch of rain overnight.
The level marker is now at 7.05m, so the river has risen 30cm in 24 hours.

Theres was some flotsam and jetsam in the river, yesterday.
But massive amounts of of it today. Tree trunks, branches, bits of houses..... There must be a mountain of debris at the Xayabouri dam.

People will be moving their gangplanks up again this morning

 

[ianyonok]

It must be time to go and check your local waterfalls.....

 

[ianyonok]

The river does go up and down surprisingly quickly. I had another look 3 hours later this morning and it has risen another 5cm, now at 7.1m.

 

[Oddvar]

Thai Water has a lot of info.
And of course, they have an app as well.

 

[DavidFL]

Resurrecting an old thread. The Khong is up high again after some torrential rain to the North.

My marker for the Mekong in full flow / flood is the little power box on the main cargo port ramp.

The water occasionally gets right there, and when it does you know there's a hell of a lot water flowing down the Mekong.
2018 was the most recent big one.

30 July 2018

1 August 2018

6 September 2018

The main down town port Chiang Khong - under water.

The port 7 July 2021

22 July 2021 @ the main cargo port.