• Newspaper section: News

Bangkok and nearby cities are likely to be spared from severe flooding this year but mushrooming flood barriers could cause higher water levels than last year in certain areas, a group of Thai-based consulting firms predict.

Monks’ quarters collapse

Several monks’ living quarters at Wat Sikuk in Bang Ban district of Ayutthaya collapsed yesterday following a failed bid to raise the floor to safeguard against flooding. The quarters, which are almost 100 years old, were supported by beams which became unstable after they had been submerged in floodwater in past years, subcontractors responsible for the floor-raising operation said. SUNTHORN PONGPAO

Chaowalit Chantararat, managing director of TEAM Group, said the prediction was based on the amount of rainfall last year and flood prevention measures carried out so far by the government.

Communities are battening down for a recurrence of the 2011 flood disaster

• Published: 23/06/2012 at 03:47 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Nervously watching the skies, the residents of Bangkok and surrounding provinces are living in fear and trepidation as the next rainy season starts to darken their horizon.

Will the city's outer districts be flooded again? Will there be a repeat of the worst natural disaster in its recorded history?

The scenes and the hardships of last year's floods remain vivid in their minds. So awesome and all-encompassing was the inundation that many residents have not bothered to carry out more than minor repairs to their homes as they pessimistically expect more of the same this year.

• Published: 11/06/2012 at 06:06 PM
• Online news:

Authorities have declared 10 flood-hit districts of Surat Thani a disaster zone, provincial governor Cherdsak Chusri said on Monday.

Mr Cherdsak said the floods have affected 12,551 households and damaged 90 roads, 11 bridges and 31 waterways.

The southern province estimated the cost of damage at more than 40 million baht.

• Published: 2/06/2012 at 10:55 AM
• Online news: Local News

The Meteorological Department on Saturday morning issued a warning for people in the North and the upper parts of the Northeast to prepare for widespread scattered rain with heavy falls in some areas and the danger of floods today the next few days.

People living near hillsides and waterways in Tak, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Phayao, Phrae, Nan, Uttaradit, Sakon Nakhon and Kalasin should prepare for heavy rain and flash flooding, it warned.

Due to the prevailing southwest monsoon, there will also be strong wind-generated 2 to 3-metre-high waves in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. All shipping should proceed with caution, the department said.

• Published: 23/01/2012 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News BangkokPost
  

Water should be released from major dams in the North to prepare for new inflows, a Chulalongkorn University's expert said.

The amount of water held in many dams, especially Bhumibol and Sirikit dams in Tak and Uttaradit provinces, is much higher compared to this time last year.

"Officials should start releasing water in the dams right away as we have only a few months left before the rainy season arrives in May," Sombat Yumuang, director of Geo-Informatics Centre for Thailand (GISThai), Chulalongkorn University, said.

Catastrophic flooding and crop losses in Thailand, the world's leading rice exporter, is raising concerns that another food crisis may be in the offing. Further disquieting is the possibility that the world may have already entered a new era where persistently high food prices are the "New Normal."

At a time when policymakers are grappling with a host of thorny economic issues, the possibility may be unwelcome, but must not be ignored.

Although volatility in commodity markets is nothing new, there are worrying signs that food price fluctuations are now taking place within a much higher bandwidth than ever before. Even when prices dip they remain high by historic standards, and when prices rise it's enough to put a serious dent in families' budgets.

Flood Relief Operation Centre yesterday responded to a request that the sluice gates of a number of canals be opened wider in order to ease the flood woes of Nonthaburi residents.

The Maha Sawat Canal gate, for example, will now be opened to a width of 1 metre, against the previous 50 centimetres.

The governor said the opening of the sluice gates of Bang Or and Bang Phlat canals would also be allowed, so as to take more water from Nonthaburi into Bangkok.

With the severe flooding having dragged on for months, many victims have been trying to negotiate for an opportunity to drain flood water out of their areas sooner rather than later.

By Brian Fisher
19 Nov, 2011, 12:08

Having spent a considerable number of days in Bangkok during October and November, I have witnessed a stoicism by its citizens never before experienced in any of the 40 plus countries I’ve also toured.

Having searched my vocabulary for a single word, which would accurately describe the overt mental and physical ‘acceptance’ by those millions of city dwellers….I have failed!

 

The Flood Relief Operations Command and City Hall will hold talks with residents from Pathum Thani's Lam Luk Ka district today to solve a dispute over the Khlong Hok Wa flood barrier.

The three-way talks follow the demolition of a 70-metre section of the sandbag wall by angry Lam Luk Ka residents on Thursday in a bid to drain floodwater from their area.

The breach caused floodwater to surge into areas in Bangkok's Sai Mai district.