Quote:
Bangkok is ready, come hell or high water
Governor confident city's unseen infrastructure can deal with flood run-off
Published: 8/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Despite floods wreaking havoc in almost 30 provinces, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra continues to insist the capital will escape the worst of the deluge.
He said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is well prepared for any possible flooding in the city.
Sanya Cheenimit, director of City Hall's Drainage and Sewerage Department, echoed the governor's assurance, saying Bangkok has eight flood drainage systems that could easily keep the downtown area flood-free.
First, the city has a 75.8km-long flood wall along the banks of the Chao Phraya River.
Bangkok also has 6,404km of drainage pipes, and there are 1,682 canals with a total length of 2,604km.
The city has 21 "monkey cheek" water retention areas, which were suggested by His Majesty the King. Those retention areas could hold up to 12.75 million cubic metres of water.
There are also seven water drainage tunnels in Bangkok with the capacity to drain 155.50 million cu m of water per second.
Furthermore, the city has 158 pumping stations to pump water out to sea, and a rain radar system which helps authorities forecast rainfall amounts and frequencies.
Finally, the city runs a highly sophisticated flood control centre with high-tech devices for rain forecasting and synchronising the meteorological information with various agencies that have also been involved in nationwide flood prevention efforts.
Mr Sanya said three factors could contribute to flooding in Bangkok.
They are long hours of continous heavy rain, the high volume of water run-off in the rivers from northern provinces that reach the city at the same time as rising sea water levels due to tidal influences, and water run-off from provinces around Bangkok.
The BMA has prepared for possible flooding this year by cleaning the city's drainage pipes. The city has already cleaned an estimated 3,780km of the 6,404km of pipes.
The city has also dredged 289 of its 1,682 canals and run its water pumping stations in a bid to speed up water draining and lower the levels of canal water.
It has already got its 1,152 water pumps ready for the operation at its 158 water pumping stations. It has prepared around 3 million sandbags and assigned 700 officials to emergency assistance units.
The BMA's flood control centre has been sharing information with state flood prevention agencies around the clock.
In February last year, the city constructed a seventh drainage tunnel between the Rama IX and Ramkhamhaeng areas. The tunnel is 5m wide and 5.11km long.
The combined length of the seven drainage tunnels in Bangkok, built at a cost of 5.6 billion baht, is 19km, and each has a water pump at its mouth.
Mr Sanya added that the BMA plans to construct three more water drainage tunnels with a combined distance of 29.3km. The three tunnels will cost 13.4 billion baht, with construction expected to be completed in the next five years.
The 21 monkey cheeks in Bangkok's suburbs would also help safeguard city residents from severe flooding, Mr Sanya said.
The Royal Irrigation Department and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, which are the operators of major dams in the upstream Chao Phraya River, began to release more more water from the reservoirs this week as volume exceeded capacity.
Water released from the dams has worsened the flooding in the downstream provinces of Nakhon Sawan, Chai Nat, Angthong, Sing Buri, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi. The released water is expected to arrive in Bangkok on Oct 17 or 18.
Mr Sanya said Bangkok will be able to handle water run-off from those provinces well, he said.
"However, more than 1,200 families in 27 communities outside the flood walls along the Chao Phraya River, the Bangkok Noi Canal and the Maha Sawat Canal are still at risk," said Mr Sanya.
The Bangkok governor has ordered 13 district offices covering the 27 flood-risk communities to prepare evacuation plans for residents, he added.