The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has prepared 1.5 million sandbags to strengthen the city’s flood walls, ahead of the arrival of northern runoffs, after the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) increased the discharge of water through the Chao Phraya Dam in Chainat province.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said today that they are less worried about the northern runoffs than they are about heavy rainfall in the city, which may cause flooding.
Nevertheless, he said about 250,000 sandbags have already been placed in gaps in the floodwalls, which will prevent runoffs from flowing into the capital.
He assured that the city’s administration is well prepared and has coordinated with all relevant agencies in dealing with the arrival of the huge volume of water heading south.
The RID reported today that it has increased the discharge rate of water through the Chao Phraya Dam to 917m3/s and that this will cause the water level in low-lying areas outside floodwalls in Ang Thong, parts of Sena and Pak Hai districts of Ayutthaya to rise by 0.5-1.5m.
Riverside communities in Uthai Thani Chainat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Suphan Buri, Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan and Bangkok have been advised to monitor the water situation closely.
Meanwhile, in Sukhothai province, runoffs from Phrae are flowing through the province in the Yom River, inundating low-lying areas in the Mueang, Sawankhalok, Si Somrong and Si Satchanalai districts.
The depth of the Yom River now averages 7.69m, which is still below the tops of the banks, except in low-lying areas.
Another mass of water from the Wang Chin district of Phrae is expected to reach Si Satchanalai at around noon today, with flow rate of 1,700 m3/s, about 500m3/s above local water management’s capacity.
The National Water Resources Office has decided to divert the excess water through the Saphan Chan sluice gate into a network of canals, to reduce the amount reaching the provincial town.
