Ayutthaya area could be key warning sign

Bangkok 'would need evacuations if Wang Noi floods'

Science Minister Plodprasob Surassawadi, releasing a new flood warning sign yesterday after making several blunders during the heavy inundation late last year, said Bangkok residents should evacuate if floods reach Wang Noi district in Ayutthaya.

Plodprasob cited a study by a government-appointed committee to study and overhaul flood and water management plan, which said flooding in Wang Noi, 50 kilometres northeast of Bangkok, could be a sign showing that the capital could not be saved.

The Wang Noi factor is among four indicators suggesting a high chance of Bangkok being flooded eventually during the wet season in coming years.

The first factor is floodwaters exceeding 4 billion cubic metres, the second is water catchment areas below Nakhon Sawan stagnating for lengthy periods.

On behalf of the prime minister, who was away in Malaysia on an official visit, he said the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management (SCWRM) study said the third factor was runoff travelling past Chaiyanat with an unspecified excess volume.

A priority in this year's measures to prevent massive flooding is to lower the water in all major dam reservoirs to 45 per cent of capacity, Plodprasob said, citing a recommendation from the SCWRM.

"It's better dealing with drought [after releasing water from dams] than suffering from heavy flooding," he said.

Thailand is expected to face a large amount of rainfall in the full six-month wet season this year as a result of the La Nina weather phenomenon and a global temperature drop. There will possibly be three storms, including one regarded as violent, which would bring heavy downpours, he added.

The obstacles detected by the SCWRM are shallow waterways, occupation of water catchment areas, and constructions of roads and housing estates that block man-made water drainage channels and waterways, with many new bridges whose foundations are set in the middle of waterways.

"A new policy against building bridges with pillars in the waterways will be put into effect soon, as a result," he added.

The Interior Ministry said it found that public catchment areas in many central provinces north of Bangkok had been encroached on, making drainage difficult and reducing storage volume drastically.

The total storage volume has been slashed by half as a result of encroachment, said deputy permanent secretary Pracha Terat, who accused "political influences" of being behind the encroachment and trespasses.

Governors who stood up against the problem in their provinces had "become exhausted" after facing "resistance stemming from political influences", he said.

"To solve the problem we need to do it through reform and serious concern with input from all parties in provincial authorities," he added.

All provinces taking part in the water and flood management plans have until tomorrow to submit their short-term projects for budget approval, while the long-term and overall projects would be implemented by the SCWRM.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has been given Bt1.96 billion by the Cabinet to compensate flood victims living in the capital. There is also Bt1.72 billion awaiting approval to be spent on flood prevention programmes under BMA supervision, said Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra.