THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Sukhumbhand blamed as Bangkok reels under floods

Sukhumbhand blamed as Bangkok reels under floods

RAINS have plunged the Bangkok governor in fresh political difficulties as heavy downpour over the past few days inundated many areas in the capital and its suburbs once again raising doubts about his flood management.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will invest more than Bt51 billion on 21 projects to solve the flood problem in Bangkok, while more rain was predicted for the capital during this week, which will surpass the city’s drainage capacity.
The apparent inefficiency of the BMA in preventing flooding in Bangkok has also resulted in Stop Global Warming Association president Srisuwan Janya sending a letter to the Bangkok City Council demanding the sacking of Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra from his post.
In the letter, Srisuwan stated that the flood has caused tremendous damage to the people, property and well-being because of the negligence of the city governor.
For three days in a row, the capital has been hit by heavy rains and thunderstorms. The storm on Tuesday night caused flash floods in 25 areas of the city. The heavy rains also caused flooding in the Bangpu Industrial Estate in nearby Samut Prakarn province.
BMA Drainage and Sewage Department director Sompong Wiangkaew stated that the BMA had made attempts to prevent flooding in Bangkok. It had invested Bt4.3 billion from its 2017 budget in 21 projects on a drainage system development plan to optimise the city’s drainage capacity.
Sompong said for short-term solutions, the department has deployed more officers and water pumps in all areas prone to |flooding, while he admitted that garbage in the drainage system was the main factor in obstructing the flow of water flow and causing floods.
“I have ordered the drainage system to be cleared of all garbage. However, this work cannot be done only by the Drainage and Sewage Department. We need assistance from other agencies and most |of all the cooperation of the |people; they should avoid throwing garbage into the drainage system,” he said.
He also revealed that Bangkok’s drainage system was designed to receive only 60 millimetres of rain per hour. The rain amount in recent days was often more than 80mm per hour, surpassing the capacity of the system. So, floods cannot be avoided, he said. The Meteorological Department has predicted that Bangkok will have rains every day throughout this week and the rains will cover up to 70 per cent of the city area between Saturday to Monday.
In addition to Bangkok, heavy rains have also caused major floods in nearby Samut Prakan province. Flooding in the Bangpu Industrial Estate had led to the closure of 15 factories yesterday.
The industrial estate director, Prateep Aengchuan, revealed that due to successive days of heavy rain, many areas in the industrial estate have been severely flooded, as a result more than 10,000 workers were unable to report to work.
“For now we cannot estimate the total damage to the business yet, as we have not received a report on damaged goods and machineries in the factories. I have to admit that investors have lost confidence,” Prateep said.
 

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