City's west may face metre-deep flood
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Chao Phraya set to brim over in many areas; flood barriers breached in several places
The west of Bangkok faces the risk of being under a metre of water in the next few days, a senior official from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said.
“The water will likely cover the entire western zone of Bangkok, with the level ranging between 50 centimetres and one metre,” Chainat Niyomthoon, deputy director of the BMA Drainage and Sewerage Department, said yesterday.
Chainat said the Maha Sawas Canal is about to brim over and all the BMA can do is encourage people to evacuate.
Bangkok’s western zone lies on the Thon Buri side of the Chao Phraya River.
Many areas of the Thawee Watthana district, which is on the Thon Buri side of the river, were already submerged and residents of the Sala Thammasop subdistrict were ordered to evacuate on Thursday.
Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra yesterday also hinted at the possibility of evacuating more areas. “We may order evacuation in the Thawee Watthana subdistrict as well,” he said.
The evacuations had to be ordered because the embankments built to control the millions of cubic metres of water heading for Bangkok seem to be damaged in many places. For instance, the sandbag barrier at the Puranawas Temple has already crumbled down.
Apart from the run-off from upstream provinces, the Chao Phraya River also looks likely to overflow.
Sukhumbhand said the river’s level would likely rise between 2.5 and 2.6 metres above sea level this morning. The Chao Phraya River swelled beyond the 2.5-metre-high embankment in many parts of Bangkok yesterday morning, giving the residents a taste of what they can expect.
The water flowed into some inner zones of the capital such as Charoenkrung and Maharaj roads.
A part of Charoenkrung Road, leading from Soi Charoenkrung 35 to Yaowaraj, was impassable to cars.
In addition, areas around the Phrachan and Tha Chang piers also bore the brunt, with floods on Maharat and Phrachan roads rising to nearly one metre very quickly.
Water from Chao Phraya River also flowed into Na Phra That Road, going towards the City Pillar shrine and then the Supreme Court. A part of the Arun-Amarin Road that leads to Siriraj Hospital was also under chest-high floods.
“The situation is worrying,” Sukhumbhand admitted.
Floods have already ravaged many parts of the capital even without the high tide. Run-offs from upstream provinces are now breaching flood barriers and wreaking havoc in northern Bangkok. Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road in front of Don Mueang Airport has been closed to traffic due to flooding.
The raging run-offs are also filling many canals to the brim, and the torrent flowing into Phra Khanong Canal cracked a 15-metre stretch of the embankment, flooding local communities, such as the Suan Sai Community, which was under chest-high water. Sukhumvit Sois 50, 54 and 56 were also inundated.
“We have already fixed the problem,” Khlong Toei District Office director Acharawadee Chaisuwirat said.
So far, about 8,205 Bangkokians have sought shelter in 81 evacuation centres in 20 districts across the capital.
