Bangkok Flood: Froc: Remaining floodwater no threat to Bangkok

[Khun Don]

WARNING
Imminent floods in 9 Bangkok areas

The Nation October 8, 2011 5:08 am

Residents living along nine areas in East Bangkok are warned of floods, according to the National Disaster Centre.

As tide rises in the capital city, the centre at 3pm said in the latest warning that some areas could experience water overflows chiefly in nine areas - Khlong Bang Phrom, Khong Chimphlee (Buddhamondhol 1), Khlong Bang Waek (Ratchadapisek Road), Khlong Premprachakorn (Don Muang), Khlong Lat Phrao (Wat Lat Phrao), Pak Khlong Talad, Khlong Bang Sue (Phaholyothin Road), and Khlong Mahasawat (Buddhamondhol 2).

Officers are instructed to stand by for immediate assistance.

[Khun Don]

Map of areas at risk


http://www.thaitravelblogs.com/2011/...as-in-bangkok/

[Khun Don]

Scared city folk prepare for the worst
Published: 9/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

Bangkokians got into full flood preparedness mode on Saturday, as city residents started stockpiling food supplies and moving their vehicles to safe ground.

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ROADS AWASH: Commuters catch a taxi near Kaset intersection in front of Kasetsart University on Saturday. The area was flooded by heavy rain late on Friday night. PHOTO: THITI WANNAMONTHA

The overnight rainfall which caused flooding in some parts of the city, coupled with Friday's national address by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra admitting that the government was almost at its wits' end to deal with the nationwide flood disaster, created a climate of concern in the capital.

Prime Minister: Bangkok safe - for now

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra called an emergency meeting of concerned agencies Saturday to map out evacuation plans and set up temporary shelters.

Water released from major dams in the North is expected to arrive in Bangkok next week. The most worrying time will be between Oct 16 and 18 when the northern waterflow combined with the high tide and projected heavy rainfall could cause severe flooding in the city, MR Sukhumbhand said.

"I don't want to see any deaths, so we have to be well prepared,'' he said.

Flood surveillance will focus on 27 communities situated outside the flood prevention wall on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River and the eastern part of Bangkok, including Min Buri, Nong Chok, Lat Krabang and Klong Sam Wa districts.

Authorities will also keep a close watch on flood-prone areas such as Vibhavadi Rangsit and Rarm Intra roads.

District offices will act as emergency response centres during the crisis, while Bangkok Metropolitan Administration-run schools will be used as shelters.

City Hall also sent staff to work with officials in the neighbouring province of Pathum Thani to strengthen flood barriers. City officials fear that floodwater from the province could overflow Bangkok's Don Muang, Lak Si and Sai Mai districts without proper management.

Sanya Cheenimit, director of the City Hall's Drainage and Sewerage Department, Saturday said water levels in the Bangkok section of the Chao Phraya River rose to 2.03m, which was still below the 2.5m high flood prevention wall.

The flood warning has prompted many Bangkok residents to stockpile food and drinking water.

Supermarkets were crowded Saturday with shoppers flocking to buy supplies both for their own consumption and for donations.

Krissada Srisiri, a 34-year-old engineer who lives in On Nut, bought 25 bags of rice at Lotus Rama IV, as he feared there may be a rice shortage during the crisis.

Office worker Benjawan Janthong, 44, bought dozens of bottles of water to store at her Sukhumvit house.

Free parking spaces provided by state and private agencies and department stores reportedly filled within hours of opening to residents of flood-prone areas.

Justice Minister Pracha Promnok, who has been appointed the director of the National Flood Relief Centre, said the flood disaster was a national crisis.

The centre has asked the army to send some 100,000 sandbags to Pathum Thani to increase the height of the flood prevention wall there in a bid to safeguard northern Bangkok from flooding.

The centre, located at Don Mueang airport, opened Saturday. Over 20,000 flood-affected people called the 1111 hotline within hours of its opening.

The centre's chief of operations, Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi, urged MR Sukhumbhand to help speed up water drainage from flood-ravaged provinces in the Central Plains into the Gulf of Thailand.

The government and the BMA were still not cooperating well enough in terms of water gate management, he said.

Mr Plodprasop said around 1,000 boats would be deployed near the Chao Phraya estuary tomorrow in an operation to push water into the sea. This measure should also ease the deluge in the Central Plains, he said.

BANGKOK POST

[Khun Don]

LATEST

Yingluck says Chao Phraya to rise higher
Published: 9/10/2011 at 08:43 PM
Online news:

In a national broadcast on TV Pool, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra admits that the Chao Phraya River will continue to rise but no more than 20 centimetres. The rising water will reach Nakhon Sawan in October 12-13 and stay high for one week.

Ms Yingluck says she has instructed all canals in Bangkok to be dreged up and finished within 7-10 days instead of one month as was originally planned. All personnel and equipment including help from armed forces will be recruited to do this urgent job so that water can be pumped along many canals to the sea much quicker.

She warns those people in Ayutthaya to brace for rising water and more floods. Bangkok residents which are not in the areas protected by prevention walls must move their belongings to high grounds right now.

BANGKOK POST

[Khun Don]

LATEST -Just Released

Yingluck says Chao Phraya to rise higher
Published: 9/10/2011 at 08:43 PM
Online news:

In a national broadcast on TV Pool, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra admits that the Chao Phraya River will continue to rise but no more than 20 centimetres. The rising water will reach Nakhon Sawan in October 12-13 and stay high for one week.

Ms Yingluck says she has instructed all canals in Bangkok to be dreged up and finished within 7-10 days instead of one month as was originally planned. All personnel and equipment including help from armed forces will be recruited to do this urgent job so that water can be pumped along many canals to the sea much quicker.

She warns those people in Ayutthaya to brace for rising water and more floods. Bangkok residents which are not in the areas protected by prevention walls must move their belongings to high grounds right now.

BANGKOK POST

[Khun Don]

Govt appeals for sandbag donations
North and east Bangkok considered vulnerable

Published: 10/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

The government is calling on the public to donate about 700,000 sandbags to guard Bangkok against the coming floodwater from the North.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the sandbags were needed to build more embankments in vulnerable parts of the capital.

She also warned Bangkokians, particularly those living in the north and east of the city, to move their valuables to higher ground.

The government, the armed forces, and the Royal Irrigation Department will monitor the water situation in Bangkok at least until Thursday, Ms Yingluck said.

Nong Chok, Klong Sam Wa, Lat Krabang and Min Buri districts are regarded as considered most vulnerable, especially when heavy rain and high sea tides are expected to coincide between Oct 20 and 24, said Phiraphong Saichau, a deputy city clerk of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

A total of 80 evacuation centres with a total capacity of 10,000 people had been set up in nine eastern districts, said Mr Phiraphong.

Sanya Cheenimit, director of the BMA's Drainage and Sewerage Department, said the department was closely monitoring the Chao Phraya River, which has been rising as flood run-off continues to pour in from the upper provinces.

Currently, the department can drain 10-20 million cubic metres of water per day from the Chao Phraya through its sluice gates. If canals in central Bangkok are high, a smaller volume of excess can be drained via the canals.

In Pathum Thani, 66 communities in Thanyaburi district's Rangsit Municipality yesterday discussed plans to prevent possible flooding. The communities agreed to add an SMS alert to the municipality's flood warning service.

Residents near the Chulalongkorn water gate in tambon Prachathipat piled up sandbags to prevent possible overflow from the Rangsit canal.

A number of places, including schools and a department store, in Rangsit were also designated evacuation centres.

In Nonthaburi, some minor overflowing of the Chao Phraya's banks was reported yesterday in Pak Kret, Bang Bua Thong and Sai Noi districts, said provincial governor Wichian Phutthiwinyu.

There have been no reports of breached levees in the province and the situation remained under control, he said.

In Ang Thong province, where all districts have been affected, governor Witsawa Sasisamit said the Chalerm Phrakiat Pavillion had been reopened as the main evacuation centre.

The two-storey centre was built five years ago for flood evacuation purposes and can hold up to 1,000 people.

A number of flood victims had begun moving into the evacuation centre, said Mr Witsawa.

The situation in Nakhon Sawan remained critical with flood levels continuing to rise.

Almost all of the province is now inundated, said Nakhon Sawan governor Chairot Midaeng.

Boon-in Chuenchawalit, director of the Bhumibol dam in Sam Ngao district of Tak, said the situation was improving as the volume of run-off flowing into the dam was yesterday considerably less than in the prior four days.

If there is no heavy rain over the next two days, the dam will begin reducing the volume of excess water it is draining out into already-flooded downstream provinces, he said.

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BANGKOK POST

[Khun Don]

BMA prepares flood shelters.
Published: 10/10/2011 at 05:30 PM
Online news:

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has prepared 191 shelters for people in four flood-prone districts in its eastern area, which is likely to be flooded by water released from Pasak Jolasid dam in Lop Buri province into Khlong Raphipat canal in Ayutthaya province.

Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said on Monday that shelters were ready in Min Buri, Nong Chok, Lat Krabang and Khlong Sam Wa districts, which would bear the brunt of the flood.

The BMA would have a command post at the Min Buri district office to manage possible evacuations and flood relief in the four eastern districts. It would be ready in three days and be be equipped with necessary equipment and vehicles to enable flood relief operations.

The BMA will prepare similar command posts and shelters in northern and western parts of the capital to deal with possible sudden flooding.

The governor stressed that Bangkok people should not be panicked by these measures, because it was only preparation in case of emergency. City Hall does not expect flood evacuations in all districts of Bangkok, he said.

MR Sukhumbhand admitted he was worried about possible flooding in 27 communities in 13 districts outside Bangkok's floodwalls in addition to the four eastern districts of Min Buri, Nong Chok, Lat Krabang and Khlong Sam Wa and the BMA was evaluating flood possibilities on a daily basis.

The governor said the capital would have to simultaneously cope with floodwater from upper areas, increasing rainfall and the next round of high tides from Oct 16 to 18.

BANGKOK POST

[Khun Don]

Yingluck says city ill-prepared
Published: 10/10/2011 at 09:42 PM
Online news:

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra admits that Bangkok's flood prevention system has not been completed and her government is racing against time and the rising waters.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has set up nearly 200 shelters to cater for possible evacuations.

Bangkok needs three strong floodwalls to protect it from flooding.

The floodwalls will be built in the Muang Ake housing estate in Pathum Thani, at Rangsit Khlong 5 and in the Taling Chan area behind the Salaya campus of Mahidol University.

They will block floodwater from the upper areas and divert it via the eastern and western outskirts of the capital to the sea.

Ms Yingluck says the floodwall in Muang Ake housing estate will be 10 kilometres long. The floodwall in Rangsit Khlong 5 area requires 1.5 million sandbags. Since all government agencies are running out of sandbags, Ms Yingluck is seeking supplies from private operators swiftly.

BANGKOK POST

[Khun Don]

Yingluck says city ill prepared for floods
Governor tells people in capital not to panic

Published: 11/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has admitted that Bangkok's flood prevention system has not been completed and her government is racing against time and the rising waters.

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Racing sands of time Foreign and Thai students of Rangsit University shovel sand into bags to make a flood wall along Khlong Rangsit. The canal, which is fed by the Chao Phraya River, is threatening to inundate the university and Muang Ake housing estate in Pathum Thani’s Muang district. THITI WANNAMONTHA

In response to the situation, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has set up nearly 200 shelters to cater for possible evacuations.

The prime minister discussed the current flood situation with relevant authorities at the government's flood relief centre at Don Mueang airport yesterday morning. They agreed that Bangkok needs three strong floodwalls to protect it from flooding.

The floodwalls will be built in the Muang Ake housing estate in Pathum Thani, at Rangsit Khlong 5 and in the Taling Chan area behind the Salaya campus of Mahidol University.

They will block floodwater from the upper areas and divert it via the eastern and western outskirts of the capital to the sea.

Through the eastern side, floodwater from the Pasak River will be diverted to the Khlong Raphiphat and Saen Sap canals and discharged into the sea. For the western side, the water will be directed through the Tha Chin River.

Ms Yingluck said the floodwall in Muang Ake housing estate will be 10 kilometres long. The floodwall in Rangsit Khlong 5 area requires 1.5 million sandbags. Since all government agencies are running out of sandbags, Ms Yingluck is seeking supplies from private operators swiftly. She said her government would buy all the sandbags available in the market to complete the floodwalls for Bangkok as soon as possible.

Justice Minister Pracha Promnok, who heads the government's flood relief centre, said he would try to have the floodwalls completed before Thursday.

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A satellite map presented at a meeting of the government’s flood relief centre yesterday shows badly flooded areas surrounding Bangkok. The government is reportedly upset with City Hall’s sluggish drainage of floodwater from the neighbouring provinces to the sea

A source said Ms Yingluck was frustrated by City Hall's reluctance to open water gates in the eastern part of the city to drain floodwater out to the sea, causing the flood crisis in the Central Plains to ease only slowly.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra, however, earlier explained that he decided not to fully open the water gates for fear that it would cause severe flooding in Samut Prakan province, not just to safeguard the capital.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Theera Wongsamut said high pressure weather systems from China were reducing the rainfall in Thailand. The amount of water in the Chao Phraya River moving towards Bangkok is either stable or only increasing slightly.

However, he was worried about floodwater arriving from flooded fields in Lop Buri and Ayutthaya provinces and from the Pasak River. This was due to reach Muang Ake housing estate and the Rangsit Khlong 5 area soon, Mr Theera said.

The BMA has prepared 191 shelters for people in four flood-prone districts in the eastern part of the city, which is set to receive massive amounts of floodwater from the Pasak Jolasid dam in Lop Buri through the Khlong Raphiphat canal in Ayutthaya.

MR Sukhumbhand said yesterday City Hall had prepared temporary shelters in Min Buri, Nong Chok, Lat Krabang and Khlong Sam Wa districts. The BMA will have its command outpost at the Min Buri district office to manage an evacuation if it is needed and flood relief efforts in the four eastern districts.

The command outpost will be ready for action in three days. It has equipment and vehicles including trucks to facilitate flood relief operations.

The governor said Bangkok people should not panic because City Hall's preparations were only contingency plans for certain flood-prone areas.

However, MR Sukhumbhand admitted he was worried about possible flooding in 27 communities in 13 districts outside of Bangkok's floodwalls in addition to the four eastern districts of Min Buri, Nong Chok, Lat Krabang and Khlong Sam Wa.

The BMA is evaluating the flood situation daily. The governor said the capital would have to cope with three challenges from Sunday to next Tuesday, namely floodwater run-off from the northern areas of the country, more rainfall and the next round of high tides.

Residents in Nonthaburi, north of Bangkok, said floodwaters surged out of their drains yesterday morning. Flooded were Pak Kret, Bang Bua Thong, Muang, Bang Kruai, Bang Yai and Sai Noi districts.

BANGKOK POST

[Khun Don]

Sandbags destined for Bangkok
Published: 11/10/2011 at 03:40 PM
Online news:

The Army Region 3 is transporting about 150,000 sandbags from Phitsanulok to build floodwalls to protect Bangkok from flooding.

Pol Lt-Gen Wanthip Wongwai, the Army Region 3 commander, said that starting from Monday night the sandbags are being transported to Bangkok via Tak Fa - Nakhon Sawan road which is not flooded with military trucks.

The sandbags had been used to build floodwalls along the Nan river banks by soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division and the Phitsanulok Municipality since mid September.

Since the water in the Nan river has receded to a normal level, the sandbags will now be used to build floodwalls to protect Bangkok, he said.

BANGKOK POST