Why Can’t We Thais Understand, Rain Brings Flooding?

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

Why can’t we understand, rain brings flooding?

By The Nation

There is an urgent need for better disaster preparedness and stricter development laws; otherwise we will sink under the weight of our own greed

The severe flooding that crippled much of central, eastern and southern Thailand last month, following days of heavy rain, has revealed serious flaws that exist in the infrastructure – or the lack thereof – of national and provincial governance. Obviously the authorities and villagers in flood-prone areas were caught off guard as the deluge hit different provinces at the same time.

With the waters now receding, it’s time to review the lessons on disaster preparedness, water-resource management, housing design, urban development and overall respect for the environment.

Unlike the 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of the South and other areas in the region, the monsoon downpours and deluges are seasonal and relatively predictable. Despite the unprecedented scale of destruction, there had been plenty of warning signs. It shouldn’t be too difficult for us to realise that we Thais have lived with the wrath of the tropical monsoon for millennia.

Unlike in Pakistan, where the massive flood crisis displaced millions of villagers and was followed by outbreaks of malaria, Thailand’s flooding was not that serious, and the authorities certainly could have coped more efficiently. It’s also no exaggeration to say that the floods that triggered subsequent disasters like mudslides and landslides occurred because of human activities.

So, it’s time to take a closer look at human activities that cause damage to the environment. First, it’s true that many big construction projects take place in low-lying areas, and that the flood plains lack proper drainage systems. On resort islands like Koh Chang and Koh Samui, uncontrolled expansion of tourism infrastructure continues at the expense of the environment. The Environmental Geology Division of the Department of Mineral Resources blamed the recent Koh Chang landslide on resort expansion; developers had removed huge amounts of soil from the area, which reduced the capacity of the remaining soil to absorb rainwater. Around 20 landslides occurred nationwide this year, the same division reported.

The level of flooding in areas between the hills of Khao Yai and in parts of neighbouring Nakhon Ratchasima province was uncommon, and again the likely culprit is human interference with the environment. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti said the flooding in these areas was caused by mass encroachment on Khao Yai and its surrounding areas, which has destroyed the invaluable forest ecosystem. Unrestrained development has depleted the area of trees, which help absorb water and neutralise the effects of heavy downpours.

Needless to say, the sad reality reflects the fact that our valuable ecosystems are being raped in broad daylight as officials look on without batting an eyelid.

There is much more the government can do besides providing sandbags and offering cash and food handouts. In the case of flood-prone areas, the authorities need to put proper measures in place such as sufficient drainage capacity, better watershed protection and water-resources management, better forecasting and warning systems, more efficient disaster management systems, and proper land management.

Why is it that Thailand has too much water and long spells of drought in the same year – year in, year out? The answer lies in the failure of our water-resources management.

Other questions remain. Why is it that so many property development projects take place in the flood plains and other low-lying areas, which ultimately block water drainage? Equally baffling is why the developers of these projects fail to take into consideration the necessity of building proper drainage systems and structures that have an elevated first floor.

It’s high time that the government reformed its outdated construction laws and tourism management regulations to ensure that our natural resources are minimally disturbed. In resort areas, tourism-related development projects must be subjected to more rigorous official scrutiny, so that our fragile ecosystems are not encroached upon and destroyed. If we do not enact such laws now, Thailand will become the victim of its own success. Thais should be glad that at least the country has no active volcanos.

The floodwaters are receding, and so should the sandbag mentality, or history will repeat itself again and again, with even more dire consequences.

-- The Nation 2010-11-25

[beano2274]

A major fact in Bangkok is the lack of education, the road sweepers sweep the leaves and everything into the drains, this will clutter them up and lead to a blockage. Around where I live they are doing the drains, the waste concrete seems to end up in the drains, again this blocks the drains and leads to flooding.

Up North it is the greed of people who are looking for fast money and do not think about the environment, they cut the trees down, they build things where they shouldn't, nothing is governed by anyone as it's all about money.

[brahmburgers]

If a farang wrote a headline like that he/she would be fricassed and frijoled by Thais for abject prejudice.

I've been working outdoors with small crews of Thais and hill tribers for 12 years, so am getting a picture of how they think - in regards to building and fixing things. The quick fix, the one that works for at least a few minutes or a few hours, is what gets applied. The fix that requires the fewest construction steps is the one chosen. Thai builders don't skimp on materials - indeed, often they use much more concrete than is needed. The problems seem to rise from lack of creative thinking in the design phase of projects - plus oversight/management.

Another facet is limited knowledge/experience with various construction materials and methods. Even lack of familiarity with tools is sometimes a factor. Often, I've seen drainage project rely upon assumption of slope, rather than measurement of slope. Line of sight is good for lining things up, but not good for gauging the slope of a drainage pipe. Thais prefer hose levels over straight levels, though straight levels are better. A storm drainage project in my town was dug up and replaced twice in two years before the builders got it right.

A large level drainage pipe will drain - if the pipe is kept clear of debris. However, reality shows that drainage pipes don't stay clear of trash and debris. So the answer is; put as much slope on that pipe as reasonably possible. But no, Thai builders will continue to construct level drainage pipes because, it will drain well after the first rain, .....so that's all that matters, as far as getting paid for the contract. As for the future, well, that's either someone else's problem, or maybe the government will pay the same contractor to return and clean or rebuild the drainage.

Another problem is no-bid projects and/or projects which go to buddies of those approving of contracts. It's another facet of cronyism and bribe paying - which all falls under the bigger heading of corruption.

[phetaroi]

A major fact in Bangkok is the lack of education, the road sweepers sweep the leaves and everything into the drains, this will clutter them up and lead to a blockage. Around where I live they are doing the drains, the waste concrete seems to end up in the drains, again this blocks the drains and leads to flooding.

Up North it is the greed of people who are looking for fast money and do not think about the environment, they cut the trees down, they build things where they shouldn't, nothing is governed by anyone as it's all about money.

So right, AND the average Thai person just doesn't give a crapola. As long as the people don't care, neither will the politicians.

[kuffki]

I love the headline!

Most likely same reasons why Thai's do not understand many things. Like for every action there is a reaction.

Pro-active thinking and so on.

Nice to see there are local people who can see the "wrongs" shame not too many of them are around and it does not bring much change, even after knowing the facts

[hammered]

Chopping down trees dont help. Probably aint a good idea to build a euro/us style ground level house in many places that are flood plains either. Probably good reason why tradional Thai houses were on stilts and still are in poorer areas.

[puipuitom]

I live in the Netherlands, a country about 1/3 UNDER sea level, sometimes even 6 mtr.

Here people started to build dikes a 1000 years ago. Now we have 17,000 km of river dikes, sometimes 18 mtr high and huge sea dikes.

In Feb 1953 the Northsea broke though and killed a 1850 people. Result the Dutch started such an overwhelming project, even not in 10,000 years the sea could do the same. Last part was finished just a few years ago.

In 1993 the rivers came very high. Result: all environment and financing discussions finished, and river dikes were increased. Just a few weeks ago.,.. big parts of Belgium were flooded, but in NL..nobody got wet feet.

Conclusion: the government must think in the future, sometimes generations ahead, supported by the people. In Thailand.. many have already problems to think over " prung nee " = tomorrow.

And government.. is only thinking of its OWN interests.

That's also why so many expats have a good job in Thailand.

Edited November 25, 2010 by puipuitom

[brahmburgers]

I live in the Netherlands, a country about 1/3 UNDER sea level, sometimes even 6 mtr.

Here people started to build dikes a 1000 years ago. Now we have 17,000 km of river dikes, sometimes 18 mtr high and huge sea dikes.

In Feb 1953 the Northsea broke though and killed a 1850 people. Result the Dutch started such an overwhelming project, even not in 10,000 years the sea could do the same. Last part was finished just a few years ago.

In 1993 the rivers came very high. Result: all environment and financing discussions finished, and river dikes were increased. Just a few weeks ago.,.. big parts of Belgium were flooded, but in NL..nobody got wet feet.

Conclusion: the government must think in the future, sometimes generations ahead, supported by the people. In Thailand.. many have already problems to think over " prung nee " = tomorrow.

And government.. is only thinking of its OWN interests.

That's also why so many expats have a good job in Thailand.

Thanks for the mini history. Even with the best engineering a rich country like Holland can afford, mother nature will go where it wants to go. Same same in Thailand and New Orleans and Shanghai, and Dacca, and other places which try to defy the force of floods and tidal surges. There simply are terrain which are not suited for human habitation. Ok for ducks, jellyfish and slime, but not for people. In the bigger picture, humans need to find ways to lessen their overall numbers. The Pope recently came out with a wimpy acknowledgment that 'maybe condoms are alright to use in some scenarios.' Even his most staunch supporters could see the wimpiness and tardiness of what is obvious to everyone else. What's the Pope's next revelation: 'Don't step on puppies because they're nice.'?

To the Dutch, the Thais, the Bengladeshis and every other group of people who are trying to reside on terrain unfit for humans, here's my unsolicited advice: #1 make less babies. #2. Find places to reside which are on higher ground.

[thequick7]

It is good to see thai media questioning their government over a issue that happens virtually every year... It would be even better to see the 7 million or so thai's affected by the flooding also ask the government why this happens every year? especially when areas that only had a small amount of rainfall but are still flooded because of rainfall up north? why cant the flooding be isolated to the areas that receive the rainfall? why aren't dam levels lowered before the rain season hits? Does Thailand have a capable meteorology bureau that government depts. have access to, to be able to get an informed opinion on future rainfall?

[rammis35]

Chopping down trees dont help. Probably aint a good idea to build a euro/us style ground level house in many places that are flood plains either. Probably good reason why tradional Thai houses were on stilts and still are in poorer areas.

Actually I asked about that and found out they didn't build them on stilts for flooding as I had thought, but it was for keeping the cows and other animals out of the house.

[brahmburgers]

Does Thailand have a capable meteorology bureau that government depts. have access to, to be able to get an informed opinion on future rainfall?

Does Thailand have a meteorological bureau at all, capable or not? If they do, they didn't have a clue about tsunamis before the big one hit a few years ago. And if you were to ask them about the sea which laps at Bangkok's doorstep, they'd probably say, 'Oh don't worry, there won't be tsunamis there. There are no earthquakes or typhoons in those waters - so why worry about the future? Plus, with all the new condominiums being built and tourist numbers lagging, we don't want to rock the boat, do we?'

[rreddin]

It is good to see thai media questioning their government over a issue that happens virtually every year... It would be even better to see the 7 million or so thai's affected by the flooding also ask the government why this happens every year? especially when areas that only had a small amount of rainfall but are still flooded because of rainfall up north? why cant the flooding be isolated to the areas that receive the rainfall? why aren't dam levels lowered before the rain season hits? Does Thailand have a capable meteorology bureau that government depts. have access to, to be able to get an informed opinion on future rainfall?

You miss a point. That is rainfall enetring the river system will work its way down stream. As happened in Bangladesh, the surface water run off from the rain was more than the rivers could hold, that resulted in flooding even though some of the affected areas had relatively little rainfall.

The situation was exacerbated by a number of factors. These include blocked or poorly maintained drains, concreting over areas where the rain could have been absorbed by the ground instead of which it was channeled elsewhere, deforestation resulting in faster run off, inadequate or incomplete flood defences and building on flood plains. All of which are man made factors.

As to lowering the water levels in the dams, why were they built in the first place - usually to store water to regulate river levels in drier times of the year. Lowering the water levels in the dams would have released a huge volume of water into the river system causing flooding. The dams would have filled up again requiring the release of more water. The best course of action, and what was done, was to hold back as much water as possible and to regulate the release of excess capacity.

[RickBradford]

As well as short-term thinking and inappropriate positioning of major cities, I think that deforestation has a major effect on the speed and severity of floods.

The loss of trees played a major role in the huge Yangtze flood of 1998 in China; some agencies estimated that the Yangtze watershed had lost 85 percent of its forest cover in the past few decades. A friend of mine in Nakhon Ratchasima said that large amounts of forest near there have been cut down for agriculture and for building large rural homes, making the progress of the flood waters much easier.

The trouble is, once land has been deforested and put to agricultural use, it's very hard to reverse, until your economy becomes advanced enough to not rely largely on agriculture.

[housepainter]

The easier question would be: What can Thais understand?

That way the list would be short.

In Pattaya there was terrible flooding problems along the Soi Diana Inn area. The problem being that the drainage system couldn't cope.

The problem was identify but the reason wasn't neither was the solution anything other than temporary.

And so they set to work ....making the pipes bigger.

Next year and the pipes had simply clogged with an increased volume of sand mixed with cement. More flooding. More chaos but another opportunity for more money to be skimmed off.

The problem - sand / cement - was ignored. The reason - building work and exposed ground - ignored. The solution - bigger pipes - was inadequate.

Thai engineers - where are you? Hello!

And every pavement bar was filled with falangs chuckling away into their Changs knowing it'd never work. But it makes you laugh how they go about it armed with little better than the shovels my Grandad was digging in with when Montgomery was in charge.

But in Thailand there's no Montgomery, no bull dog spirit and no hope.

[thequick7]

It is good to see thai media questioning their government over a issue that happens virtually every year... It would be even better to see the 7 million or so thai's affected by the flooding also ask the government why this happens every year? especially when areas that only had a small amount of rainfall but are still flooded because of rainfall up north? why cant the flooding be isolated to the areas that receive the rainfall? why aren't dam levels lowered before the rain season hits? Does Thailand have a capable meteorology bureau that government depts. have access to, to be able to get an informed opinion on future rainfall?

You miss a point. That is rainfall enetring the river system will work its way down stream. As happened in Bangladesh, the surface water run off from the rain was more than the rivers could hold, that resulted in flooding even though some of the affected areas had relatively little rainfall.

The situation was exacerbated by a number of factors. These include blocked or poorly maintained drains, concreting over areas where the rain could have been absorbed by the ground instead of which it was channeled elsewhere, deforestation resulting in faster run off, inadequate or incomplete flood defences and building on flood plains. All of which are man made factors.

As to lowering the water levels in the dams, why were they built in the first place - usually to store water to regulate river levels in drier times of the year. Lowering the water levels in the dams would have released a huge volume of water into the river system causing flooding. The dams would have filled up again requiring the release of more water. The best course of action, and what was done, was to hold back as much water as possible and to regulate the release of excess capacity.

so what your saying is that they are doing a good job and should keep on doing what their doing? for 5 years out of the last six there has been flooding in the same areas and millions of people affected, and I dont know how long before that it has been happening? yes i understand that they had too much rain for the rivers to handle but its not like the authorities couldnt have forecast that? what were the dam levels in the weeks leading up to the rain? Im sure they were near capacity? im just asking why wasnt there controlled water releases from the dams before the rain season? just like they are doing in australia at the moment. Even if they did this step and they still get flooding, why isnt more being done to control it? this is not a 1 in a 100 year event, not even 1 in 25 or 10 year event. it happens virtually on a yearly basis.