South braces for more rain as infrastructure overwhelmed

[webfact]

South braces for more rain as infrastructure overwhelmed

By The Nation

 

The wreckage of a house in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Nopphitam district is seen after it was hit by devastating flash floods. More rains and flooding are expected to last through Monday.

 

OFFICIALS in Nakhon Si Thammarat were in a race against time yesterday as major infrastructure was overwhelmed by flooding and more torrential rains were expected.

 

Urgent efforts were underway to drain the runway at the province’s main airport, which was inundated by runoff since late Wednesday night, and also to check aviation safety systems, airport director Suksawat Sukawanno said yesterday. 

 

 

Flooding forced the airport to close as a safety precaution yesterday pending an assessment today, he added.

 

Airports Department chief Darun Saengchai said the airport had been closed since 1.50am yesterday and his department was monitoring the situation to determine when it could reopen. 

 

 

In Songkhla, eight trains transiting Nakhon Si Thammarat Station, including one originating in Bangkok, were suspended for another two days as a flooded 200-metre railway section was to be repaired by tonight. The railway would also be subjected to a risk assessment, said Southern Train Operations centre head Banhan Kobyayang.

 

Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Chayapol Thitisak warned that 10 provinces in the South, particularly Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Songkhla, would face another round of heavy rains and possible flooding and landslides through Monday. 

 

The other six provinces were Chumphon, Trang, Yala, Pattani, Satun and Narathiwat. 

 

All of Nakhon Si Thammarat’s 465,399 residents in 163 tambons spanning 23 districts were affected by the floods and seven deaths have been reported with 277 homes partially damaged. 

 

Painful loss

 

In Nopphitam district, forest runoff completely destroyed six homes and partially damaged 21 others as flash floods shocked residents, some of whom said the flooding was as bad as in 1988.

 

 

“I saw my house crumble before my own eyes,” said resident Sukanya Warapiang tearfully. 

 

She recounted her feelings yesterday after flash floods struck the day before and brought down the house her family had lived in for more than 14 years. 

 

 

“I worked very hard to own it. Now, there is nothing left,” she said, coming to grips with the life-changing event that had left her and her three children homeless. There had never been such serious flooding in the area before, she said.

 

A 1.59-minute video clip of forest runoff sweeping away homes in the Wat Tho Ek area of Phrom Khiri district, which was posted by a Facebook user last night, received an outpouring of online support. 

 

At least 170 families saw their houses still submerged yesterday. 

 

 

Residents were evacuated to a local temple and officials had provided initial aid.

 

In Tambon Khao Kaew of Lan Saka district, landslides two days ago reminded residents of a major landslide two years ago. Many claimed they heard the mountain “crack” during flash floods yesterday that poured a torrent of water into a river, sweeping away shacks selling souvenirs on the riverbank.

 

Authorities planned to check the area to determine whether it was safe to occupy.

 

Meanwhile, Muang Nakhon Si Thammarat Municipality warned downstream residents in Tambon Na Sai, Na Khian and Pak Poon of potential health problems linked to water that might leak from a pond that had became polluted by a nearby garbage dump. 

 

 

Overflow from Khlong Tha Chak yesterday threatened to submerge the pond and disperse the polluted water as officials were using backhoes to build earthen dikes between the canal and the pond and pumping polluted water into a wastewater treatment system. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30333437

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-12-08

[Colabamumbai]

What is the answer, better water management?

[Beats56]

2 hours ago, Colabamumbai said:

What is the answer, better water management?

They installed a big dranage pipe and a new pump to remove the water in NST by my wife's mother house. But it still can not keep up and the water that is almost 3 feet high. Forcing them to the second floor then to the school..yes they need better engineering as this is a seasonal thing there.

 

[seahorse]

14 hours ago, Colabamumbai said:

What is the answer, better water management?

There is no answer. Nature cannot be tamed by man.

[Rhys]

...thus they buy more bottled water and plastic...and it continues....

[Stocky]

On 08/12/2017 at 8:33 AM, Colabamumbai said:

What is the answer, better water management?

Yes, any water management would be a start in NST and Surat Thani. 

 

We're lucky in Hat Yai that since the big floods of 2000 and 2010 the relief canal system has been completed. We now have flood gates and two relief canals to divert water around the city and out to Lake Songkhla. Work is underway to further widen the western relief canal to increase capacity. We have a proper water management and flood warning system, with website where you can view water levels via webcam feeds and get the status report.

 

http://www.hatyaicityclimate.org/

 

Importantly they've fixed a whole host of issues where poor road building and new construction work had acted to block proper drainage.

 

It helped that in 2009 the city was selected to join the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN), which came with a donation of  $500,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation.  Help from central government has been sorely lacking, they only ever seem to act to supply after the event 'aid' rather than trying to address the underlying issues and develop and fund preventative strategies.

 

Hat Yai has largely helped itself.

 

 

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Edited December 11, 2017 by Stocky

[Rhys]

It was nice finally to have sunny days on the weekend, and let the drying out begin.