Engineers highlight lack of local flood plans and warning systems

[webfact]

Engineers highlight lack of local flood plans and warning systems

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM 
THE NATION

 

 

BANGKOK: -- THE FLOOD crisis in Sakon Nakhon and other Northeastern provinces highlighted the need for local plans to handle disaster preparation and warning systems, the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) urged at a press conference in Bangkok yesterday.

 

The institute staff also said there should be regular inspections of reservoirs and preparation plans in case of dam failure after a reservoir was damaged in Sakon Nakhon.

 

The head of the EIT committee on disaster management, Anek Siripanichgorn, said the flooding in Sakon Nakhon and other Northeastern provinces was a lesson about the failure of warning systems, adding that authorities should produce more locally orientated disaster preparation and warning plans to prevent the next disaster.

 

“Our disaster-warning system is usually on a national scale, and local people often do not get the information they need to handle an impending disaster. We need local plans to make sure the warning system suits the nature of the disaster in an area, which will reduce the damage and loss of life in case of disaster,” Anek said.

 

He also suggested that due to differences in geography and environment, local people should conduct terrain surveys using smartphone applications to understand areas that often have been affected by uncontrolled urbanisation. Anek said smartphones could also be used to warn people about disasters in a timely fashion.

 

“Every area should have a plan to handle and warn about each disaster. People should know how much time they have to get ready and evacuate, and where the nearest safe zone is,” he said.

 

The chairwoman of the EIT subcommittee on water resources, Siriluck Chumcheun, said the Sakon Nakhon floods rose so quickly mainly due to the enormous amount of rainfall in a short period, with 340 millilitres in three days in the Sakon Nakhon Basin.

 

Contradicting reports repeated in public, Siriluck said the damaged dam at Huai Zaikamin Reservoir had not played a major role in submerging Sakon Nakhon town, as there were only 2 million cubic metres of water in the reservoir, which is located on a different watershed than Sakon Nakhon and Nong Han Lake.

 

Instead, she said the floods were caused by the overflow from Nong Han Lake amid the heavy rainfall and poor water drainage from the lake to the Mekong River via the Kam River.

 

EIT president Thanes Weerasiri said the institute would send an engineering team to inspect the damaged reservoir on Saturday to repair it before the next storm, which is expected within the next 20 days.

 

“We are still unsure whether we can repair the reservoir in time, as we have to evaluate the damage first,” Weerasiri said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30322595

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-08-03

[Smiley Face]

Come on!!!!  It's so much less trouble just to make excuses than it is to devise a constructive course of action.  Besides, all the Thai engineers were playing with their cell phones for the entire 10 minutes that they taught disaster prevention and warning systems in the university.

[Thian]

Thai "engineers" don't even know that water won't flow uphill....

 

It's more important to have a very big pickuptruck and new cellphone, who needs a watersystem?? You can't show that in the village so it's useless.

[metisdead]

A troll post has been removed.  

[chainarong]

But, but , but , what about Yingluck's PTP flood mitigation program,  isn't that working, probably working  about as good as the Prayut's transparency on drought control ....................................................

[Katipo]

Aren't these articles recycled from 2011? 

[robblok]

1 hour ago, chainarong said:

But, but , but , what about Yingluck's PTP flood mitigation program,  isn't that working, probably working  about as good as the Prayut's transparency on drought control ....................................................

I do like to know what she did after 2011.. and what Prayut did after he took over.. I think both did not do much.

[robblok]

A problem here in Thailand is that local organisation often only spring into action after they are forced too by people higher up. It is as if they are afraid to work and make some changes. So many incompetent people on posts that just want to collect salary and skim of budgets.. it would be too much to ask to do their job. 

 

Look at the guy of the disaster prevention with warehouse full of boats.. not used... saying that they are already allocated and some are not working (then fix them.. its your job). It really looks like people don't want to do their job or are not good at it.

[rkidlad]

Time for the PM to bark some orders. That will work .

 

And if it doesn't, maybe pen a song to raise hopes 

[lvr181]

"Engineers highlight lack of local flood plans and warning systems"

Oh, really?   

Been common knowledge among many for years! But nobody does anything apart from the usual talk fest (so beloved of many 'politicians') 

 

Now is the chance for the 'engineers' to become a part of the solution and not be a part of the problem!

[sawadee1947]

that's really funny. Thailand and plans would not go together. But stop with one exception: The "elite" got always plans to fill their pockets.

[gandalf12]

The EIT as used in the post exists nowhere outside of Thailand and is not recognized internationally. The definition they are using for Engineer is the Thai definition. Some guys are very good but obviously the ones in question are perhaps not quite so good.

The education of Engineering needs to be radically overhauled and Thailand should look for proper affiliation to one of the Internationally recognized institutions to boost the knowledge base

[maewang99]

ridiculous.

read this morning's British Guardian..... The Guardian..... it has an article on SE Asia and India in it that presents a directly related issue involving.... healthy people.  but don't bother if you are an American and you don't "believe" in humidity as a temperature factor... or that folks can "adapt". 

The Guardian story includes info on what irrigation canals might mean as well.... 

 

not "fake" news. 

pretty simple shit.

 

and it's in a ****British***** newspaper today. how about that?






 

 

Edited August 3, 2017 by maewang99

[Lunchbob]

2 hours ago, robblok said:

A problem here in Thailand is that local organisation often only spring into action after they are forced too by people higher up. It is as if they are afraid to work and make some changes. So many incompetent people on posts that just want to collect salary and skim of budgets.. it would be too much to ask to do their job. 

 

Look at the guy of the disaster prevention with warehouse full of boats.. not used... saying that they are already allocated and some are not working (then fix them.. its your job). It really looks like people don't want to do their job or are not good at it.

Yes, robblok knows what is what. Thank you

[lvr181]

27 minutes ago, gandalf12 said:

The EIT as used in the post exists nowhere outside of Thailand and is not recognized internationally. The definition they are using for Engineer is the Thai definition. Some guys are very good but obviously the ones in question are perhaps not quite so good.

The education of Engineering needs to be radically overhauled and Thailand should look for proper affiliation to one of the Internationally recognized institutions to boost the knowledge base

Nah, that is a farang idea and not usually accepted here. 

 

But you are totally correct.

[The Dark Lord]

5 hours ago, chainarong said:

about as good as the Prayut's transparency on drought control ...............

Well the drought control seems to be working very well up in Issan."...........

 

 

(my apologies to those who have lost most everything in this ridiculous lack of concern for the "great unwashed" demonstrated by the large pumpkin)

[Surasak]

4 hours ago, robblok said:

A problem here in Thailand is that local organisation often only spring into action after they are forced too by people higher up. It is as if they are afraid to work and make some changes. So many incompetent people on posts that just want to collect salary and skim of budgets.. it would be too much to ask to do their job. 

 

Look at the guy of the disaster prevention with warehouse full of boats.. not used... saying that they are already allocated and some are not working (then fix them.. its your job). It really looks like people don't want to do their job or are not good at it.

A bigger problem IMHO, is that they are so sealed inside their own little boxes, they have no idea how to think outside it.

[digger70]

Excuses Excuses they should've started planning 100years ago,not now.