Mae Taeng Area Photos

[T_Dog]

Thought I would post some of the photos from Mae Taeng area as the flood waters passed us. The floods up there were not nearly as bad this time around as they were in 2005. The Ping Valley on HWY 1323 was 1 meter higher in 2005, and the Mae Taeng River this year did not flow as high either as it did six years ago. My sincerest best wishes to those in Chiang Mai that were in the flood areas as Chiang Mai was impacted very hard.

DAY 1

We woke up at 6 AM on Wednesday morning in a small village not far from the Ping River after 12 hours of heavy rain all night. The neighbors were already outside with rumors (which turned out to be baseless) that Mae Ngat Dam was bursting. The local irrigation canal had over run its banks and was running deep red. Ladies in Lanna dresses were donning umbrellas to walk to the valley to see what was up. By 8 AM, we get phone calls that Ban Pao, 10 kilometers upstream on the Ping that has serious flooding with several road closed by meter deep flows of water.

About 9 AM I hop on the motorcycle to go see what is up. The Ping River had been 80 meters wide at the bridge the prior day. Now it is hundreds of meters across. As I watch, I can see a banana orchard being overcome by water. The influx of water in the valley was very fast.

[T_Dog]

DAY 1 9 AM:

I decide to go to Mae Ngat Dam to see for myself what the rumors are all about. I join a steady stream of pick ups and bikes. Stopping at the spillway and release channel, nothing is amiss and the flow of water seems almost low. Driving to the top, I talk to a few fishermen and I tell them of the rumors. They laugh and say they hear those all the time. The dam is just a few meters above summer levels. "Mai Kuun" they say, not high. It is a normal day of fishing at Mae Ngat Dam.

[T_Dog]

DAY 1 2 PM:

The Ping River is cresting at the HWY 1323 bridge. We drive 10 kilometers up the Ping to Ban Pao and see many roads washed out. The folks manning the police box say that at 5 AM a meter of very fast moving water had swept through and some residents had to evacuate. No casualties due to speaker trucks and word of mouth. Now it is low enough for us to drive through.

[T_Dog]

DAY 2:

The waters of the Ping continue to subside. The Mae Taeng River however rises. The Mae Taeng River drains a much larger and wilder area than the Ping River by the way and it joins the Ping River just north of the downtown area of Mae Taeng. The 2005 floods were caused mostly by days of rain up the Mae Taeng River valley which is huge.

DAY 3 - Mae Taeng River:

Needing a good mountain bike ride, I hop on the bike and head up the Mae Taeng River. Talking to the locals up the Mae Taeng Valley, they say the flow was not as bad as it was in 2005. I see some resorts that still have one or two meters of water in them, but the water has dropped a meter in the last 24 hours. That is certainly good for everyone downstream.

One of these photos shows a water level gauging station on a bridge near the elephant camps. It has a cellular link for the data so I am wondering if it is on the Thai Hydro-website. If anyone has found web links to gauging stations on the Mae Taeng River, please post them here or send me a PM. This is probably the best area for early warning of floods.

[T_Dog]

DAY 3 - Mae Taeng River:

Even with the flooding going on, people try to go about their normal lives and they can even still smile. Ox Carts await tourists which will arrive later in the day by bus and van. No elephant rides will be fording the Mae Taeng however.

[T_Dog]

DAY 3 - Mae Taeng River:

I decide to ride into the mountains to see how the streams are doing up there. The Mae Taeng valley has hundreds if not thousands of these beautiful rivulets, and this one is running as high as the Mae Taeng River at summer levels. Several landslides on the trail going up to 700 meters MSL makes the trip a bit risky, and the swimming hole I am trying to find is too dangerous to approach with the high flows and slippery rocks. Falling into the stream would be certain death. I decide its time to head for home.

On the way back down, the tourists have arrived and it seems to be a fairly normal day at the elephant camps. I know that far south of this beautiful place where nature rules, people are busy mopping up a big mess. Let's hope we don't get any more flooding for a long time to come.

That's it for chronicling the Mae Taeng 2011 flood days. See you on the trails whether they be concrete or dirt.

[noise]

Great chronology and photos. Enjoyed them both.

[Lizard2010]

Very enjoyable looking at the flooding photos.

[T_Dog]

Thanks for the comments. Here are some photos from early September of the canal diversion dam on the Mae Taeng River. It is the only dam on the Mae Taeng and it is free flowing over the top so water can rise and enter the canal. Did not have a chance to get up there during the high flows but I am sure there was a lot more water going over. This area doesn't look like much when you drive up but it has several nice picnic areas with great views down by the river.

By the way, there are no dams on the Ping River except for a few weirs. (Mae Ngat Dam feeds from a separate drainage basin into the Ping above Mae Taeng.) I believe even Mae Kuang Dam in Doi Saket feeds into the Ping River below Chiang Mai in the Lamphun area.

[weary]

This link is to the Mae Taeng River level at Hydro 1... but there is no data.

http://www.hydro-1.com/index.php?id=61&rivercode=0603

Thanks a lot for the pictures and report T-Dog.

Edited October 1, 2011 by weary

[T_Dog]

This link is to the Mae Taeng River level at Hydro 1... but there is no data.

http://www.hydro-1.com/index.php?id=61&rivercode=0603

Thanks a lot for the pictures and report T-Dog.

Weary....Thanks for the link, and it is unfortunate that site is down. Good early warning information and it would have been interesting to look at the past week's trend data for the next time. As far as I know, no one has canceled the possibility of wet weather!

[WinnieTheKhwai]

" Like! " Excellent report and pictures!

[weary]

P.90 Ping River, Ban Thab Duea, Tambon Inthakhil (or Inthakhin), Amphoe Mae Taeng, Changwat Chiang Mai ... Critical level: 4.30 m, 400 m3/s

P.92 Mae Taeng River, Ban Mueang Kit, Tambon Kit Chang, Amphoe Mae Taeng, Changwat Chiang Mai ... Critical level: 6.70 m, ( . )

[rcjoop]

If you want locations of the measuring points in the Ping basin you will have to look on the RID site. They have an XLS file with all stations and the rough GPS locations, description of the location and since when operational etc.

water.rid.go.th/hyd/list_station/ping.xls

not sure if links will survive on this site but otherwise Google Mae Taeng P.70 P.65 and it will be your first hit.

Joop

[T_Dog]

If you want locations of the measuring points in the Ping basin you will have to look on the RID site. They have an XLS file with all stations and the rough GPS locations, description of the location and since when operational etc.

water.rid.go.th/hyd/list_station/ping.xls

not sure if links will survive on this site but otherwise Google Mae Taeng P.70 P.65 and it will be your first hit.

Joop

Joop... Thanks! Downloaded it and will attach it here under a different file name for future reference. Now if only they were all operational.

Gaging Stations.xls

[IanForbes]

Thanks for the photos, T-dog. It puts into perspective what people had to go through in the recent flooding. It is also fair warning in what to expect in the future and then take necessary precautions. Living in a flood plain is ALWAYS a risk.

[T_Dog]

Thanks for the photos, T-dog. It puts into perspective what people had to go through in the recent flooding. It is also fair warning in what to expect in the future and then take necessary precautions. Living in a flood plain is ALWAYS a risk.

You are right there Ian! Many people were impacted by the floods and it is likely to happen again. In Ban Pao folks had to get up in the wee hours of darkness to evacuate as the waters rose so rapidly. Not fun at all, but things seem to be getting back to normal for the most part.

[ratcliffe]

Good post, enjoyed your photos and comments.

[T_Dog]

Here are photos taken on 7 October or 10 days after the flood crest at the HWY 1323 bridge near the Mae Ngat Dam. There is a "during crest" and "after" photo of the depth gauge and the water is down 60 cm from where it was, but still a meter higher than three weeks ago. Still some flooding up there but it is not causing too much problems except to the farmers that own the fields.

[T_Dog]

The Ping River along the road to Chiang Dao is still running very high. The flood crest through here uprooted trees that are now lying on sand bars.

[T_Dog]

Mae Ngat Dam was discharging a bit more than last week, but according to the folks up there it was at fairly normal wet season maintenance levels. The small gate house controls an irrigation canal, and the main hydroelectric plant is about 20 meters lower. Always a picturesque place to have lunch.

Did not get any photos of the Mae Taeng River, but it was much lower than during the flood crest.

[IanForbes]

It can have some pretty fair fishing up there at times for jungle perch and giant snakeheads...

And has rental cottages further down the lake.

Very scenic with high rocky cliffs.

[T_Dog]

Nice to see you posting your superb photos again Ian. That lake really is a gem. Nice fish in there too and those jungle perch look pretty strong.

[muchogra]

Nice photos and inf, T_Dog and IanForbes!

Is the lake the same as the dam T_Dog refers to?

[moe666]

Thanks T Dog very well done.

[T_Dog]

Nice photos and inf, T_Dog and IanForbes!

Is the lake the same as the dam T_Dog refers to?

Yes. One fun thing you can do up there is take a boat to the upper reaches of the dam where you can rent a floating guest house. Nice quick get-away and a great way to see the area.

[Lizard2010]

Thanks for sharing the photos.