Chiang Mai begins flood clean-up

Workers have kicked off a campaign to clean roads and collect debris in downtown Chiang Mai after flooding eased in some commercial areas
The Chiang Mai Municipality started the operation at 5pm on Friday in a bid to revive economic activity in the normally bustling northern tourism city. The work is divided into five zones including areas near the Naowarat Bridge and famous Night Bazaar.
One of the priorities is collecting debris and garbage carried into the city by floodwaters that breached the banks of the Ping River.
Although the situation is improving in some parts of the city targeted for cleaning, the municipality advised residents not to lower their guard. The river is still red-flagged, meaning water levels are at or near a critical point.
The river depth was measured at 4.23 metres at the Naowarat Bridge at 5pm, after hovering around that mark throughout the day from 8am.
The provincial irrigation office has estimated that about 3 million cubic metres of floodwater remain in the city and that it will take about two days for it to drain away.
One of the newly flooded areas on Friday morning was Chiang Mai University, where the campus was hit by runoff from rain that drenched Doi Suthep.
The university announced in the afternoon that conditions had returned to normal. “The traffic routes and the CMU Transit service are now operating as usual,” it said on its Facebook page.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will visit Chiang Mai from Chiang Rai on Saturday.
She arrived in Chiang Rai on Friday afternoon and led a meeting with officials to steer aid to help people affected by northern flooding. Muang and Mae Sai were among the districts in Chiang Rai affected the most.
Northern train services to Chiang Mai are still halted at Lampang station and passengers have to board buses provided by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to Lamphun and Chiang Mai. 
The SRT said it would fully refund all advanced train tickets booked for travel from Sept 26-30.