Thailand Floods Thread

[PeteC]

The Royal Irrigation Department has warned that forecast heavy rain could lead to flooding from overflowing rivers from Saturday to next Wednesday.

The warning was issued on Thursday by the deputy director-general of the department.

He said it was prompted by the Meteorological Department forecast for increasing rain nationwide.

The flood warning particularly applies to the following provinces, from Saturday to next Wednesday:

The northern provinces of Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Nan, Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, Uttaradit and Tak;

The northeastern provinces of Kalasin, Nakhon Phanom, Bung Kan, Sakon Nakhon, Nong Khai and Udon Thani;

The eastern provinces of Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat; and

The southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.

The following rivers and their tributaries could burst their banks - Kok, Wang, Yom, Nan, Khwae Noi, Pa Sak, Chao Phraya, Loei, Chi, Mun, Bang Pakong, Prachin Buri, Trat, Chanthaburi, Sai Buri, Bang Nara and Sungai Kolok.

The Meteorological Department said rain would ease off on Thursday and Friday as the monsoon trough would be over Myanmar, upper Laos and upper Vietnam.

From Saturday to next Tuesday rainfall would increase nationwide because the trough would be above the North and the upper Northeast.

[PeteC]

Households below Chao Phraya Dam advised to move valuables to higher ground

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/households ... er-ground/

People living near the Chao Phraya River, downstream of the Chao Phraya Dam in Thailand’s central province of Chai Nat, have been advised by the Royal Irrigation Department to move their valuables to higher ground to avoid river overflows.

The department said that it has decided to increase the discharge rate of water through the dam, from 1,500m3/s to 1,800m3/s from of Saturday, adding that this will cause the level of water in the river, from Sapphaya district of Chai Nat province, through Sing Buri and Ang Thong provinces, to Ayutthaya province, to rise 40-80cm in the next 2-5 days.

The department said that low-lying areas near the river are most susceptible to river overflows.

Water levels downstream of the dam yesterday (Saturday) were measured at 12.66 metres above mean sea level.

Meanwhile, the National Water Command Centre said that the volume of water flowing into the Chao Phraya Reservoir has increased to between 1,900-2,000m3/s, including about 300m3/s from the Sakae Krang River in Uthai province.

According to the command centre, flooding has been reported in four districts of Suphan Buri province, one district in Prachin Buri province, one each in Chachoengsao and Chaiyaphum, five in Ayutthaya and two in Khon Kaen.

Ayutthaya’s Deputy Governor, Prateep Karnmitri, called a meeting of authorities yesterday to assess the situation, following an announcement by the Royal Irrigation Department.

He said that over 5,000 houses in Sena, Bang Sai, Bang Ban, Phak Hai and Bang Pahan districts are now being affected by flood waters.

Officials have also been instructed to reinforce the flood walls, to protect archaeological sites and industrial estates in the province.

In Chat Trakan district of Phitsanuloke province, two people were electrocuted in their flooded houses.

The Meteorological Department issued a warning of heavy to very heavy rain today and tomorrow in 71 provinces, including Bangkok.

[PeteC]

5 Ayutthaya districts flooded

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ts-flooded

Flash floods force closure of national park

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ional-park

[PeteC]

Two districts in Phetchabun province face the worst flooding in 60 years

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/two-distri ... -60-years/

People living in the Lom Sak and Lom Kao districts of Thailand’s northern province of Phetchabun are facing what is being described as the worst flooding in 60 years, following heavy rain last night, according to Surin Chanthawong, chief of the Pa Sak River basin survey station today (Sunday).

He said that water from the Nam Lao and Nam Ya tributaries has poured into the Pa Sak River, forcing him to leave the station, because the floodwater reached a depth of some 10.30 metres......(Photos at link)

[PeteC]

Water is coming south, and it will be for the next 2-3 months. Getting jumpy when the dam is less than 50% of capacity gives me a thought that all may not be well with the structure. Who knows, but it seems a strange reaction at present.

Ubolratana Dam discharging water

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ging-water

[PeteC]

Flood warning for Khon Kaen as tropical storm Ma-on approaches

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... approaches

[PeteC]

5 waterfalls in and around Khao Yai closed to tourists until end of September

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/5-waterfal ... september/

Five waterfalls in Khao Yai National Park, in Thailand’s north-eastern provinces of Nakhon Ratchasima and adjacent Nakhon Nayok, have been declared off-limits to visitors until end of September for safety reasons.

The five waterfalls are Haew Narok, Haew Suwat, Nang Rong, Sarika and Takhro.

Triggered by heavy rain in mountainous areas, currents caused by the volume of water cascading down from the mountains into creeks and waterfalls are so strong that they pose a serious threat to the safety of visitors who venture near them, said park officials.

Most resorts located near creeks in Nakhon Nayok have been inaccessible due to flooded roads and have closed.

The public disaster prevention and mitigation central command has warned Bangkok, Lop Buri, Saraburi, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi, along the Chao Phraya River, to brace for possible river overflows from today, as more water is being discharged through the Chao Phraya and Pasak Jolasid dams.

The director-general of the Royal Irrigation Department, Prapit Chanma, assured the public that the reservoirs behind the Bhumibol, Sirikit, Pasak Jolasid and Kwae Noi Bamrung Dan dams, and other reservoirs in the country, are currently at 53% of their capacity and still have a combined ability to absorb another 11.782 billion cubic metres of water.

[PeteC]

Race to discharge more water through Pasak Jolasid and Chao Phraya dams

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/race-to-di ... raya-dams/

Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department is racing against time to discharge more water through the Pasak Jolasid Dam in Lop Buri province and the Chao Phraya Dam in Chai Nat province, in anticipation of the arrival of a large volume of water from the north of Thailand over the next two weeks.

Surasri Kidtimonton, secretary-general of the Office of the National Water Resources, which is the command centre for the management of water resources nationally, said today (Saturday) that the amount of water being discharged through Pasak Jolasid Dam has been increased from 400m3/s to 500m3/s from today, while the amount of water being discharged through the Chao Phraya Dam remains at 1,500 m3/s.

He said that the water discharged through Pasak Jolasid Dam into the Pasak River, before it flows through Saraburi and into Ayutthaya, will be diverted through a network of canals into the Bang Pakong River in eastern Thailand and, finally, into the Gulf.

He stressed that the need to speed up the discharge of water is to enable the reservoirs behind them to accommodate an expected large influx of water from the northern region. Without the increases, large swaths of land on both sides of the Chao Phraya River may flood.

The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) released satellite images yesterday, showing more than 4,640 hectares of mostly farm land, along both sides of the Prachin Buri River in the eastern province of Prachin Buri, under water.

People in Khaen Dong and Satuek districts of Buri Ram have expressed serious concern that the Lam Takhong reservoir’s banks may collapse, due to the increasing water pressure.

They point out that excess water has already flowed over the spillway and punched a gaping hole at the foot of a bridge.

Officials from the provincial public disaster prevention and mitigation office checked the integrity of the reservoir yesterday and assured people that it is still stable and no cracks in its banks were found.

[PeteC]

Heavy rains wreak havoc as flooding impacts more than 20,000 households

https://www.thaienquirer.com/43478/heav ... seholds-a/

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported that over the past week more than 20,000 households have been affected and one death has been reported as a result of flooding.

Heavy rains and the release of waters from many of the dams has caused flooding and it continues to worsen as water levels rise due to rain from the monsoon and Ma-on tropical storm.

The release of water from the Chao Phraya Dam has already flooded provinces such as Ayutthaya which continues to bear the brunt of the impacts with 10,530 households affected by ongoing rising water levels.

The neighboring provinces Prachin Buri and Nakhon Nayok were also affected at 464 and 494 households, respectively.

Earlier this morning, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) revealed through satellite imaging that over 340,000 rai in the Isaan region is flooded. The images came from RADARSAT-2 on 28 August 2022 which also depicted over 270,000 rai of rice paddies in the region have been affected by the floods.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has issued a warning to Bangkok, Nonthaburi, and Samut Prakan to keep a cautionary lookout for water conditions throughout the week as the situation develops.

The rains that started this morning had inundated many parts of Bangkok causing heavy traffic in the morning rush hour.

[wenshidi]

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't this an annual occurrence?

[Dannie Boy]

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't this an annual occurrence?

The answer is of course yes, but the amount of rain is worse in some years resulting in greater flooding. As is being experienced elsewhere (most noticeably in Pakistan) some areas are experiencing the worst flooding in decades, whereas other regions are experiencing the worst droughts in decades - linked to climate change, almost certainly and therefore with no short-term fix possible, these events are only likely to become more frequent!!

[HHTel]

Professor says Bangkok predicted to sink by 2100

Another academic is warning of the dangers of flooding in Bangkok. The director of the Centre for Climate Change and Disaster at Rangsit University, Dr Seree Supharathit, pointed out that international climate change organisations have made a map showing that Bangkok and its area will sink and disappear by the year 2100. He said that if the government doesn’t do anything to prevent this, then it must prepare to move the capital.

https://thethaiger.com/news/bangkok/pro ... yM7uyJG_DY

[PeteC]

Floods in Thalang as downpours batter Phuket

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ter-phuket

Photos at link.

[VincentD]

Sigh. My soi in Bangkok is in the news, Nation channel to be exact. Water is around 50 cm deep and isn't going anywhere until they can drain the Lat Prao canal. And if you need to ask, there's 20 cm of water in the car porch and water already in the kitchen...

[PeteC]

News Alert:

"Heavy rain from Sept 12-17 will raise Chao Phraya river levels by 0.40-0.60m in Ang Thong, Ayutthaya, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Bangkok on Sept 16-17: govt"

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... phraya-dam