Four factors blamed for flooding problem in Bangkok

[snoop1130]

Four factors blamed for flooding problem in Bangkok

 

 

Four factors are blamed for the seemingly insoluble flooding in Bangkok every time the capital city is lashed with widespread torrential rains.

 

The heavy rains on Monday afternoon, for an example, resulted in flooding in many parts of the city as the drainage system could not cope with excessive amount of rain water – about 100 mm of rain water in Bang Sue district for instance. Not to mention the resulting traffic nightmare which paralyzed the city for several hours.

 

Thai PBS reporters talked with several experts who gave different opinions about the flooding problem in Bangkok which could be summed up into four factors.

 

Not enough monkey cheeks to absorb excess water. Bangkok deputy governor Amorn Kitchawengkul earlier said that Bangkok needs another 10 monkey cheeks in addition to the existing 25 to hold excess water of up to 25 million cubic metres.

 

Existing monkey cheeks such as Makkasan swamp, Bung Gum and Bung Ekamai are not adequate, said the deputy governor.

 

Rapid city expansion has reduced the uninhabited space earlier used to store rain water. For instance, Lat Phrao which was used to be an open ground to hold rain water has now been taken over by housing estates and communities. Former Bangkok governor noted in a report last year that water retention area in suburban Bangkok had been reduced by 40 percent as a result of urbanization, leaving the city with fewer water retention area.

 

Professor Thanawat Charupongsakul of Thailand Environment Institute once pointed out that the city’s drainage system could cope with only 60mm/ hour of rain water because of the limited capacity of the drainage system.

 

The other factor is the garbage problem blocking the drainage system. As many as 10-20 tonnes of garbage are retrieved every day from the city’s klongs which are main conduit for the draining of water into the Chao Phraya river.

 

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/four-factors-blamed-flooding-problem-bangkok/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2016-10-04

[OMGImInPattaya]

Forgot the Yinluck government.

[ExpatOilWorker]

Pretty good flow in the drainage system.

LINE_MOVIE_1475546769175.mp4

[KhunBENQ]

Bangkok is and will be jam packed with traffic.

Bangkok is and will be flooded in every serious rain season.

 

That will continue until ... the city is finally flooded by the sea

Edited October 4, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[HoboKay]

Mismanagement and incompetence seems to be the two factors that matter. 

[kotsak]

20 minutes ago, HoboKay said:

Mismanagement and incompetence seems to be the two factors that matter. 

 

With emphasis on the latter 

[Thunder26]

Anywhere in the world flash floods would occur if it rained 100 mm in one hour. Not much can be done here, unless you build a city on pillars. 

[daveAustin]

 

Quote

Four One factors blamed for flooding problem in Bangkok

 

Being built on a floodplain might have something to do with it. 

[WinnieTheKhwai]

It's just lovely water patiently waiting to be drained.

 

All hail to our Dear Leader.

[bluebluewater]

I just LOVE monkey cheeks

[topt]

6 minutes ago, bluebluewater said:

monkey cheeks

 

Can someone tell me what these are in relation to water retention in the OP?

[Tatsujin]

19 minutes ago, topt said:

 

Can someone tell me what these are in relation to water retention in the OP?

 

They are simply water retention areas the King named as monkey cheeks by the way they hold/store food (water) in their cheeks.

 

http://kanchanapisek.or.th/kp2/m_stage/activities_e/ling_e/ling2_e.html

[topt]

1 minute ago, Tatsujin said:

 

They are simply water retention areas the King named as monkey cheeks by the way they hold/store food (water) in their cheeks.

 

http://kanchanapisek.or.th/kp2/m_stage/activities_e/ling_e/ling2_e.html

Thanks

[muzmurray]

After the large floods of about 6 years ago, I saw countless people empty their now redundant sandbags down the drains, of course helping to clog them and so helping future flooding.

 

An endless cycle that could only be broken with education.

[Lamkyong]

in the clip  its well marked  disabled drain

[klauskunkel]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Four factors blamed for flooding problem in Bangkok

BKK admin: We have been submerged in the denial stage of the Bangkok flooding problem for a few decades, and only recently came up for air and moved into the blaming phase of the problem. It is still too early to dive into the addressing stage, since we still need to fully immerse ourselves into the blaming portion of the flooding. Thank you. burp.

[Fookhaht]

Five years ago, during the 2011 floods, BMA brought in the world's experts, the Dutch, to analyze Bangkok's flooding problems.  

Their conclusion?  Politics (turf wars) between the responsible agencies, resulting in almost total inertia, especially in emergency conditions.   (Apparently,  the other "four factors" are merely window dressing to mask the primary, embarrassing, intransigent problem.)   

Of course, with that damning analysis, the Dutch were sent packing.  Can't have foreign experts exposing our internal chaos, can we?   Unfortunately for the politicians and bureaucrats, the Dutch report made it to the media before they were hustled to their departing flight.  Curiously, didn't make front page. 

Edited October 5, 2016 by Fookhaht

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, topt said:

 

Can someone tell me what these are in relation to water retention in the OP?

Some reference to a rather arcane concept that works well in rural communities with typical seasonal rain levels that does not adapt in any shape or form to big city water management and flood control regardless of who the principal advocate is.

 

Meanwhile, in Venice...

 

[otherstuff1957]

4 factors?  How about a 5th:  water doesn't flow uphill.  At high tide large areas of Bangkok are at or even below sea level.

 

Most of BKK is sinking at an average rate of 1.5cm per year.  Unless they invest in dykes and pumps, the flooding problem is just going to get worse every year.

[Fookhaht]

7 minutes ago, otherstuff1957 said:

4 factors?  How about a 5th:  water doesn't flow uphill.  At high tide large areas of Bangkok are at or even below sea level.

 

Most of BKK is sinking at an average rate of 1.5cm per year.  Unless they invest in dykes and pumps, the flooding problem is just going to get worse every year.

Dykes (sic) and pumps?  Damn!  Call the Dutch experts back!  

Edited October 5, 2016 by Fookhaht

[williamgeorgeallen]

just blame it on the rain

 

pointless playing the blame game. not gonna change. better just off trying to live with it.

[chiang mai]

"As many as 10-20 tonnes of garbage are retrieved every day from the city’s klongs which are main conduit for the draining of water into the Chao Phraya river".

 

Filling them in and turning 90% into roads didn't help either!

[Remus1830]

Just a few days ago didn't government spokesman say no flooding threats. Who will they try to blame now Thaksin. 

[elgordo38]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

 

The other factor is the garbage problem blocking the drainage system. As many as 10-20 tonnes of garbage are retrieved every day from the city’s klongs which are main conduit for the draining of water into the Chao Phraya river.

I guess public education is out of the question. Maybe they should have Klong inspectors 

[Retiredandhappyhere]

At least we can now understand why they want to buy the submarines!  

[nottocus]

I thought they were going to say the brakes failing as one of the factors.

[Srikcir]

Another factor is water does a "runner" like drivers responsible for a traffic accident.

Waiting for the RTP to put out a warrant for its capture and detention.

Flight risk - no bail!

[SOTIRIOS]

.......better add.......

 

....incompetence.......lies.......denial........

 

...and ask again...where has all the money allocated to flood control washed away to....all these years.....???

[impulse]

I think it's important to differentiate between flash floods from 100mm of rain in a few hours that drains off in a few more hours, and catastrophic flooding from the Chao Phraya River overflowing its banks that last for weeks.

 

I know of no city in the world that won't flash flood with 100mm of rain, especially not a flat city that sits so close to sea level.

 

For the Chao Phraya overflowing?  They can spend as much as they want, but then they'll have to spend even more the next year as Bangkok subsides and more of it becomes vulnerable to the overflow.  I'm not sure they can print enough money to guaranty no flooding.

 

Not to say they couldn't do better.

Edited October 5, 2016 by impulse

[anotheruser]

This would never happen in a major city in the USA that is at or below sea level...  Agree with others flash floods happen in any city and are quite common. Bangkok is on a major river and in a flood plain, you can't prevent floods but you can prepare for them. You can build levies and dams but it can go terribly wrong like what happened to New Orleans. 

 

 

Edited October 7, 2016 by anotheruser