Chiang Rai more flood-prone after earthquakes: NDWC

[webfact]

NDWC: Chiang Rai more flood-prone after earthquakes

BANGKOK, 19 August 2014 (NNT) - The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has warned residents in Chiang Rai to brace for possible floods following a series of earthquakes since May.

The center said many areas in the northern province will now become more susceptible to flooding after a major 5.3-magnitude earthquake and a number of aftershocks had altered the flow of water in nearby water sources.

Similar to other cities worldwide hit by earthquakes, Chiang Rai's tremors can increase risk of flooding through changes to river heights, narrowing of river banks, shallower river beds, and damages to water infrastructure.

31 provinces across the country have battled floods since the rainy season began, with Ubon Ratchathani being one of the worst hit provinces. The NDWC warned that other provinces including Mae Hong Son, Sukhothai, and Tak continue to be very prone to floods.

At the same time, the volume of rainfall this year is significantly lower than that of last year, raising concerns among officials of an impending drought. The center noted that the overall water volume in all major dams in the country stands at 17 percent of their total capacity.

Cloud-seeding operations could be launched over dams soon and the public is urged to use water sparingly.


-- NNT 2014-08-19

[wileycoyote]

Not good.

[lannachiangrai]

Poor reporting yet again. There was not a 5.3 earthquake, it was a 6.0. We have had numerous aftershocks, many in the 4.+ range as recently as the week of Aug. 13th, 2014. There have been daily aftershocks in the 2.0 range that can not be felt but are being recorded on the Thai Meteorological website http://www.tmd.go.th/en/earthquake_report.php To say "Chiang Rai is more flood prone" is a gross overstatement considering the size of the province and limited area affected by the earthquake. In truth, there is possibly a potential for flooding in the Mae Suai and Mae Lao regions of Chiang Rai, about 30-40 kms south of Chiang Rai city, the areas that took the brunt of the earthquake. Also, the reservoirs in the Chiang Rai are starting to get filled up but the large dam in Mae Suai was still low (maybe only 45% full) as of the end of July and the reservoir in Mae Kha Chan on the way to Chiang Mai was VERY low (maybe 20% capacity) as of Aug. 8th.

[Rotweiler]

Absolute balderdash - no scientific support for a statement like that, at all.

Please, people (espeially those a thousand km away with NO idea what is goling on here....), STOP giving us this crap.

[mumbojumbo]

earthquakes cause flooding----humph

[AjarnP]

Best not tell the guy who designed the new city drainage system; the installation of which has been screwing with our already hopeless traffic flow for a long time.

Too long a sentence. Can't be bothered to edit. :-)

[toybits]

The NDWC has not made any survey to make conclusive statements. So instead, they warn Chiang Rai residents of possible floods due to reasons they cited - e.g. changes in topography, river constrictions, etc. Hmmm. Better to make a statement now and be blamed later... if anything bad happens...