Ping River Levels

[Maejo Man]

PM links flooding to political crisis

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday flooding in the northern provinces had been aggravated by the political crisis, which forced the government to delay its 200-billion-baht national water-management project.

That's the spirit, Blame it on the democrats! As if they would have been implemented this year anyway

Thaksin denied allegations that deforestation to build the Chiang Mai Night Safari had contributed to the flood damage in the North. He added that deforestation had been going on in Chiang Mai for 10 years.

Of course not! The Shaftari has nothing to do with the flood waters that roll on down places near my soi that never saw water before it was built.

Source: ThaiDay - 2 August 2006

[Gonzo the Face]

PM links flooding to political crisis

Thaksin denied allegations that deforestation to build the Chiang Mai Night Safari had contributed to the flood damage in the North. He added that deforestation had been going on in Chiang Mai for 10 years.

Of course not! The Shaftari has nothing to do with the flood waters that roll on down places near my soi that never saw water before it was built.

Source: ThaiDay - 2 August 2006

Vellly Interlesting...... been going on for 10 years admitted the PM....... I guess whoever has been PM for the past 5 years, could have taken care of some of it at least... No ??????

Inquiring minds want to know ...

='s Whistling Dixie

[Happy Jack]

It amazes me that the press uses such words as 'unprecedented', 'unexpected', etc about Chiang Mai's floods.

Jack... The Ping River flooding last year was the worst in 40-50 years (I think depending on where you were exactly)... but you are correct about the yearly flooding of the low lying areas in the city due to heavy rainfall. Chiang Mai is in a flood plain and I think historically the flooding of the Ping River has raised the surrounding area about one meter every 200 years. (Info from Chiang Mai News)

So in living memory there have been worse floods than the completely 'unprecedented' one which took out the night bizarre last year?

Not unless there's some very very old folks around. I've been here sence 1982 and the worst flood we had was I think in 1991 (or was it 92?).

At the risk of appearing a pedant... Oh to hel_l with it, I am a pedant!:

Chiang Mai Mike described last year's flood as 'the worst in 40-50 years' This implies there was a worse one prior to 40-50 years ago, which is certainly in living memory (as would 70 or 80 years ago be for some people).

[Rinrada]

Wife has just spoken to our 2 new gardeners over there in May-On (Glen-Na Eagles-San K-Peng)who have just reported that all our new coconut trees (or bushes..whatever u call them) they planted over the last couple of months are coming on ...a Treat...

Also we installed a couple of again new concrete cess tanks and water puri tanks next to the "gate house"so hopefully the extra rain will give them a bit of a flush out

They dont seem too bothered by the "Fon-Tok"

According to a map that I finally managed to get hold of it looks as though one of the main tributaries to the Ping starts on the mountain just behind my tempory bike shed....I could asked them to dam it up and see wot happens... ...just a thought....

[dezeure]

A Chiang Mai resident rests after frantically moving his household effects to higher ground yesterday.

Source: The Nation 2006-08-01

At least the PC got saved

[chownah]

It amazes me that the press uses such words as 'unprecedented', 'unexpected', etc about Chiang Mai's floods.

Jack... The Ping River flooding last year was the worst in 40-50 years (I think depending on where you were exactly)... but you are correct about the yearly flooding of the low lying areas in the city due to heavy rainfall. Chiang Mai is in a flood plain and I think historically the flooding of the Ping River has raised the surrounding area about one meter every 200 years. (Info from Chiang Mai News)

So in living memory there have been worse floods than the completely 'unprecedented' one which took out the night bizarre last year?

Not unless there's some very very old folks around. I've been here sence 1982 and the worst flood we had was I think in 1991 (or was it 92?).

At the risk of appearing a pedant... Oh to hel_l with it, I am a pedant!:

Chiang Mai Mike described last year's flood as 'the worst in 40-50 years' This implies there was a worse one prior to 40-50 years ago, which is certainly in living memory (as would 70 or 80 years ago be for some people).

Don't forget about the Biblical flood...the Noah and the Ark event....remember. We're not sure EXACTLY how long ago it was....different disciplines (e.g. creationism, darwinism, intelligent designism, wild a55 guessing) put it at different times historically but they all agree that it was more than 40 or 50 years ago so I think that Chiang Mai Mike was just hedging his bets by using a cut off date that agrees with all of the major flood predicting mechanisms. Also, I think that the metre gets bigger every year so all of the estimates from 40 or 50 years ago would have to be interpreted in light of this incontrovertible fact....so....just for what its worth...but you get it for free!!!!

[lamphun]

It amazes me that the press uses such words as 'unprecedented', 'unexpected', etc about Chiang Mai's floods.

Jack... The Ping River flooding last year was the worst in 40-50 years (I think depending on where you were exactly)... but you are correct about the yearly flooding of the low lying areas in the city due to heavy rainfall. Chiang Mai is in a flood plain and I think historically the flooding of the Ping River has raised the surrounding area about one meter every 200 years. (Info from Chiang Mai News)

So in living memory there have been worse floods than the completely 'unprecedented' one which took out the night bizarre last year?

Not unless there's some very very old folks around. I've been here sence 1982 and the worst flood we had was I think in 1991 (or was it 92?).

At the risk of appearing a pedant... Oh to hel_l with it, I am a pedant!:

Chiang Mai Mike described last year's flood as 'the worst in 40-50 years' This implies there was a worse one prior to 40-50 years ago, which is certainly in living memory (as would 70 or 80 years ago be for some people).

Well what were the figures for the flood 50 years ago ?

Partly thanks to the communist insurgency there was a reasonable forest cover in the Chiang Mai area until (i'd guess) the late seventies, so I have some doubts about floods before this time.

The point I was making is that last years floods were not normal. Unless we've been having a drought for the last 50 years, and I know we haven't, last years flooding was definately unprecedented in it's frequency.

[Happy Jack]

It amazes me that the press uses such words as 'unprecedented', 'unexpected', etc about Chiang Mai's floods.

Jack... The Ping River flooding last year was the worst in 40-50 years (I think depending on where you were exactly)... but you are correct about the yearly flooding of the low lying areas in the city due to heavy rainfall. Chiang Mai is in a flood plain and I think historically the flooding of the Ping River has raised the surrounding area about one meter every 200 years. (Info from Chiang Mai News)

So in living memory there have been worse floods than the completely 'unprecedented' one which took out the night bizarre last year?

Not unless there's some very very old folks around. I've been here sence 1982 and the worst flood we had was I think in 1991 (or was it 92?).

At the risk of appearing a pedant... Oh to hel_l with it, I am a pedant!:

Chiang Mai Mike described last year's flood as 'the worst in 40-50 years' This implies there was a worse one prior to 40-50 years ago, which is certainly in living memory (as would 70 or 80 years ago be for some people).

Well what were the figures for the flood 50 years ago ?

Partly thanks to the communist insurgency there was a reasonable forest cover in the Chiang Mai area until (i'd guess) the late seventies, so I have some doubts about floods before this time.

The point I was making is that last years floods were not normal. Unless we've been having a drought for the last 50 years, and I know we haven't, last years flooding was definately unprecedented in it's frequency.

Looks like we'll just have to wait for CM Mike to explain what he meant by the worst in 40-50 years'. In the meantime maybe we should all enrol in a boat building course.... using the latest composite materials of course, seeing as all the trees have been done away with......

[ChiangMaiMike]

Last year the Prime Minister and others were quoted in the media as saying variously "Worst flood in 40 years" and "Worst in 50" years. I think the 50 year quote was from someone in Chiang Dao.

As I pointed out earlier, and is obvious to anyone who has looked down on the city from Doi Sutep, this whole valley is a very large flood plain...

And if you travel about you will notice that all the older houses are built on posts about 6' off the ground. You think they did that for the view?

What has changed the most in the last 50 years is where people are now living... Not only here in C.M., but in the whole world.

The population of the world has doubled in the last 40 years, and almost any disaster of the same magnitude as 40 years ago is going to affect a lot more people. It would be interesting to see an aerial view of this city 50 years ago and compare it to what is here now... remember almost all those new houses are built on lots that have been filled in... makes for a lot of runoff.

Last year the P.M. blamed the tangerine growers instead of the traditional scapegoats, the indigeonous peoples.

The King said if his plans had been followed it wouldn't have happened, and I'm inclined to believe him.

I think there are many reasons for the flooding and I don't

know what the best course of action is... If levees are built to protect C.M. what will be the effects further downstream? Should people be allowed to fill in rice fields to build Moo Baans? Should more dams be built?

I don't know.

With proper warning, which wasn't given last year, most people can save their stuff... and maybe tourism will be down and some businesses will suffer, but I worry most about the Gymkhana Golf Course and the people who work there which is just now recovering from being inudated with 3-6" of mud, as were all the surronding houses.

We are not seeing raging torrents here that are sweeping away people and homes, although some people have died. It is not a disaster that most cannot cope with, really more of an inconvience. (yes, I know there are exceptions) But were not talking about a 'Katrina' catagory disaster here.

I personally don't think we've seen the worst flood of the year, since we are just entering the start of the usually heavy rains, but I hope I'm wrong...

[terry57]

It amazes me that the press uses such words as 'unprecedented', 'unexpected', etc about Chiang Mai's floods.

Jack... The Ping River flooding last year was the worst in 40-50 years (I think depending on where you were exactly)... but you are correct about the yearly flooding of the low lying areas in the city due to heavy rainfall. Chiang Mai is in a flood plain and I think historically the flooding of the Ping River has raised the surrounding area about one meter every 200 years. (Info from Chiang Mai News)

So in living memory there have been worse floods than the completely 'unprecedented' one which took out the night bizarre last year?

Not unless there's some very very old folks around. I've been here sence 1982 and the worst flood we had was I think in 1991 (or was it 92?).

At the risk of appearing a pedant... Oh to hel_l with it, I am a pedant!:

Chiang Mai Mike described last year's flood as 'the worst in 40-50 years' This implies there was a worse one prior to 40-50 years ago, which is certainly in living memory (as would 70 or 80 years ago be for some people).

Well what were the figures for the flood 50 years ago ?

Partly thanks to the communist insurgency there was a reasonable forest cover in the Chiang Mai area until (i'd guess) the late seventies, so I have some doubts about floods before this time.

The point I was making is that last years floods were not normal. Unless we've been having a drought for the last 50 years, and I know we haven't, last years flooding was definately unprecedented in it's frequency.

Looks like we'll just have to wait for CM Mike to explain what he meant by the worst in 40-50 years'. In the meantime maybe we should all enrol in a boat building course.... using the latest composite materials of course, seeing as all the trees have been done away with......

look here fella,

can you please refrain from any attempt at humour as you could quite possibly end up in serious trouble here.

[Gonzo the Face]

Is Anyone else having trouble connect to the Hydro Site???

I have been unable to connect for about 5 hours now and am curious about the up or down of the river for the night.

Last I have is about 4pm I think and at that time it was holding steady and not going up or down.

Gonzo

[terry57]

Last year the Prime Minister and others were quoted in the media as saying variously "Worst flood in 40 years" and "Worst in 50" years. I think the 50 year quote was from someone in Chiang Dao.

As I pointed out earlier, and is obvious to anyone who has looked down on the city from Doi Sutep, this whole valley is a very large flood plain...

And if you travel about you will notice that all the older houses are built on posts about 6' off the ground. You think they did that for the view?

What has changed the most in the last 50 years is where people are now living... Not only here in C.M., but in the whole world.

The population of the world has doubled in the last 40 years, and almost any disaster of the same magnitude as 40 years ago is going to affect a lot more people. It would be interesting to see an aerial view of this city 50 years ago and compare it to what is here now... remember almost all those new houses are built on lots that have been filled in... makes for a lot of runoff.

Last year the P.M. blamed the tangerine growers instead of the traditional scapegoats, the indigeonous peoples.

The King said if his plans had been followed it wouldn't have happened, and I'm inclined to believe him.

I think there are many reasons for the flooding and I don't

know what the best course of action is... If levees are built to protect C.M. what will be the effects further downstream? Should people be allowed to fill in rice fields to build Moo Baans? Should more dams be built?

I don't know.

With proper warning, which wasn't given last year, most people can save their stuff... and maybe tourism will be down and some businesses will suffer, but I worry most about the Gymkhana Golf Course and the people who work there which is just now recovering from being inudated with 3-6" of mud, as were all the surronding houses.

We are not seeing raging torrents here that are sweeping away people and homes, although some people have died. It is not a disaster that most cannot cope with, really more of an inconvience. (yes, I know there are exceptions) But were not talking about a 'Katrina' catagory disaster here.

I personally don't think we've seen the worst flood of the year, since we are just entering the start of the usually heavy rains, but I hope I'm wrong...

[ChiangMaiMike]

Gonzo... they only seem to update when it's critical... guy probably catching some shut eye or comp time for doing all the postings during the crisis period...

I'm assuming they might fill in the blanks and that the numbers are continuing to drop...

[Happy Jack]

look here fella,

can you please refrain from any attempt at humour as you could quite possibly end up in serious trouble here.

Humour? What humour? Anyway, weren't you already run out of this thread?

[Johpa]

I personally don't think we've seen the worst flood of the year, since we are just entering the start of the usually heavy rains, but I hope I'm wrong...

It is especially troublesome that these floods are so early in the rain cycle. Traditionally, flooding in the area would not occur until late August or into September, after the land had become fully saturated and was no longer able to absorb any of the rain. And flooding, as I remember it, was usually from the Ping over flowing its bank and only limited local flooding direct from rainfall.

Although I am sure global warming has had, and will continue to have, a negative impact upon the local hydrology, me fears the unrestrained commercial developments in the forests and along the lower reaches of Doi Suthep are more immediate causes.

[terry57]

look here fella,

can you please refrain from any attempt at humour as you could quite possibly end up in serious trouble here.

Humour? What humour? Anyway, weren't you already run out of this thread?

urr.

NO !!!

[whimsy]

Went for a look around this afternoon after the rain stopped. At least in the city area, all except the lowest lying areas are now dry and the river is back within its banks with about a metre to spare. The flow rate is quite fast. It seems that the authorities are progressing quickly with cleanup but are leaving the sand bags in place for now.

I thought that a few photos taken between 4pm and 6pm today might be of interest, particularly to those out of town worried by the media reports. It looks OK unless / until there is more heavy rain soon.

Near to "The Dukes" and Rimping Supermarket

A little downstream, halfway to the Sheraton

Saraphi area, just past the 'new' Highway to Lamphun.

ITV reporter, on camera, in rubber boots, standing in the only decent sized puddle left on Chang Klan Road. Doing his best to make the situation look grave.

[rishi]

Excellent photoshots --- clearly show, that sofar (this year) the socalled flooding has stayed well within what one could call natural boundaries of Ping ...

... meaning that the "floodings" documented in this thread (except for Gonzo's, maybe) can't be blamed on the Ping - the only true flood provider around here --- but rather on Thaksin and his fellowmen ...

[limbos]

Talking about humor.

Did Think_too_much already wade into this thread and called Chiang Mai a Mickey Mouse place, like he did Samui during the Dec 05 floodings?

Hope you guys are going to OK, it looks like it's not done yet. Good luck to you all.

[Gonzo the Face]

Gonzo... they only seem to update when it's critical... guy probably catching some shut eye or comp time for doing all the postings during the crisis period...

I'm assuming they might fill in the blanks and that the numbers are continuing to drop...

CMM I am not talking about the hourly blanks left in the graph, but not being able to access the site at all. This is what I get when clicking on the site in my favorites.....

Not Found

The requested document was not found on this server.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Web Server at hydro-1.net

Anybody else having this problemn ????

Maybe its my TOT adsl service which has been like garbarage for the past few months.

In the meantime can someone post what the level is at by Narawat at the latest time available ?

Thanks

gonzo

[chanchao]

> Thaksin denied allegations that deforestation to build the Chiang Mai Night

> Safari had contributed to the flood damage in the North. He added that

> deforestation had been going on in Chiang Mai for 10 years.

Well sorry but that's rubbish. That affected area near the Night Safari is adjacent to Doi Suthep, which is a national park, which is not deforested in any way, EXCEPT of course for that Night Safari area. And guess what, flooding there happened last year and this year, exactly when the Night Safari was being built / opened.

I could also add that the Night Safari has been nothing short of a commercial disaster, a mega-failure not a mega project, but that's a different topic.

[ChiangMaiMike]

Gonzo...

http://www.hydro-1.net/ gets the "The page cannot be displayed" notice when accessed via TT&T adsl... so assume it's really down.

I'd be surprised if the river hasn't continued to drop.

Are you following the progress of Typhoon Prapiroon? Projected track continues to be moved more westerly... Appears could be some significant moisture headed this way...

[Gonzo the Face]

Gonzo...

http://www.hydro-1.net/ gets the "The page cannot be displayed" notice when accessed via TT&T adsl... so assume it's really down.

I'd be surprised if the river hasn't continued to drop.

Are you following the progress of Typhoon Prapiroon? Projected track continues to be moved more westerly... Appears could be some significant moisture headed this way...

No I Lost that URL in a computer shuffel also.... can you post the URL.

The one I had last year was really good. Showed all and I think like a 3 day projection as well.

I want to say AccuWeather or something like that.

Thanks

Gonzo

[ChiangMaiMike]

Just back from Mae Nqat Dam... Water level about 10-15' below spillway, although from downstream flow looks like they've got the turbines running at max.

Here's a good article on Flood Mitigation for Chiang Mai from the ChiangMai Mail written by a retired civil engineer.

http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/149/tours.shtml

[Gonzo the Face]

I was told that this evening on Thai TV there was a report of another very heavy rain front moving in tonight and that people should sandbag, and expect more flooding tomorrow. Can anyone shed any light on this???

gonzo