Contractors warned after canal overflows
Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra has instructed all units under his supervision to immediately cancel contracts with any builder who is found to have abandoned or delayed flood-prevention projects in the capital.
Sukhumbhand reaffirmed his policy yesterday, after the flooded Phra Khanong Canal overflowed on Monday night, sending water into local communities in the face of a damaged temporary embankment.
Deputy Bangkok City Clerk Sanya Sheenimit and officials rushed to the flooded areas at 8pm on Monday and found the overflowing floodwater pouring into Rerm Charoen and Premreutai communities.
The flood level was between 20 and 40 centimetres, making the roads impassable to small vehicles.
According to Sanya, the canal’s water level reached a height of 1.95 metres under the influence of the high tide. The damaged temporary embankment stood at between 1.6 and 1.7 metres only.
It took officials three hours to drain floodwater by forming sandbag walls to increase the height of the embankment and pump out the floodwater.
