Country ‘ better organized’ to deal with overflow hazard, so a replicate of 2011 doubtful.
Water pro Chawalit Chantararat predicts that the government’s ability to deal with the catastrophe will be less severe than the ones from 2011 because of the country’s smaller masses of waters coming from the North and its readiness to deal with the disaster.
The director of Team Group, Team Consulting Engineering and Management Public Company Limited ( Team Group ), Mr. Chawalit, recently expressed optimism for the manageability of this year’s rainfall.
He said that although large rain has fallen in the northern regions, including Chiang Rai, Phayao, Phrae, Sukhothai and Phichit, it has not been sufficiently to overflow the whole area.
He also noted that this year, there are 15.6 billion cubic meters of water flowing through the Muang city of Nakhon Sawan state. In comparison, the highest number measured on Sept 25, 2011, was 23.4 billion cubic feet.
He claimed that the four main rivers that flow from the northern region ( the Ping, Wang, Yom, and Nan Rivers ) and meet at Nakhon Sawan, the source of the Chao Phraya River, were responsible for the record-breaking volumes seen in 2011. This time, however, merely the Yom River brought increased fluids from the North. ” The mass of water flowing through Nakhon Sawan on Aug 25 was about 40 % of 2011’s number, which is manageable”, he said.
Chawalit
When asked if he was sure Bangkok would certainly experience a overflow like in 2011, Mr. Chawalit, even a water resources engineer, responded that based on current volumes, there should not be a problem because the city is near the sea’s exit and the water mass in the North does not include a large area.
He even expressed confidence in the 10 kaem ping or “monkey face” water catchment areas along the Chao Phraya River, located in regions north of Bangkok, including Ayutthaya, Lop Buri and Ang Thong.
These reservoirs may keep 1.2 billion cubic meters of water, he said, and they will stop Bangkok from receiving north waters, he said.
” Bangkok usually fails to drain rainwater after heavy rain in some areas due to the city’s basin land, especially the 12 risk areas, such as Chaeng Watthana Road]from the Prapa Canal to the Prem Prachakon Canal], Ratchadaphisek Road]in front of Bangkok Bank ] and Sathu Pradit Road]the Sathu-Chan junction ]”, Mr Chawalit said.
He noted that when the water level is typically great, it is typically difficult to pour water into the Chao Phraya River in October because it can result in floods in places like the Soi Si Kham group in Samsen Soi 19, the Devaraj Kunchon area, and the Rachaphatubtim Ruam Jai group in Dusit district, as well as the Tha Wang and Tha Tian communities in Phra Nakhon district and Yannawa district’s Rong Si community on Rama III
Global warming, in addition to being one of the major contributors to floods, is another important factor, according to Mr. Chawalit, who said one of the causes of Bangkok’s excessive rainfall in 2022, when the city experienced 800 millimeters of rainfall in a single month while the rainfall for the entire year was only 2,300 millimeters.
” Global warming is getting more and more pervasive.” The Earth’s temperature should not rise by over 1.5 degrees Celsius, but it has now gone up by 1.2C.
” If it reaches 1.5C, more disasters, such as wildfires, floods, the melting of polar ice and overflows of seawater into rivers, will occur, “he said.
In the next 26 years, sea levels in the Gulf of Thailand will rise by 75cm, which is the number the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts, he said”. By then, Bangkok may be submerged,” said the water expert.