Western Bangkok could still be flooded in New Year: Yingluck

“We hope people can celebrate the New Year with happiness. But I’m not confident about the situation in Bangkok’s western districts where water drainage is very difficult,” Yingluck said.

“Water is still flowing into western Bangkok,” she said in explaining why that part of the city was still suffering severe flooding while all other inundated areas of the capital were starting to dry out. 

Crews were rushing repairs of the damaged dyke along the western bank of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok and the job would be completed in two days, she said.

However, the situation also depended on the area’s water-drainage capacity and the northern run-off, which was still massive and continued to pour into western Bangkok from places like Nakhon Pathom’s Bhuddha Monthon, she said.

Canals in the area were dredged in advance but the run-off was carrying water hyacinth and garbage. 

“Officials have even found mattresses,” she said.

The Armed Forces and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration were working hard to clear the clogged waterways. 

“We’re using pumps to help push the water out via canals,” said Pongsak Phansawas, director of the Bang Khunthien District Office. 

Huge floods from tropical storms have ravaged many parts of the country during the past two months and now millions of Bangkok residents are struggling with the deluge.

To date, 21 Bangkok districts, many in the western half, have been issued either full 

or partial evacuation orders. 

Bang Khunthien is one of the western districts. Flood waters have already surged into Rama II Road’s low-lying Soi 69, where more than 3,000 families live. 

“My family plans to evacuate now. The flood water is rising,” said Krittaya Dejpitak, a 48-year-old resident. 

Although Rama II Road remains untouched, Traffic Police said many roads in western Bangkok were already under one metre of water and were impassable to vehicles. 

Chalit Damrongsa, director-general of the Irrigation Department, said his department was running 336 pumps in western Bangkok. 

“Together, they can handle 80 million cubic metres of water each day,” he said. 

However, the operation to remove water from the affected areas also had to take into consideration many other factors such as the ocean tides and how much water downstream areas could take.

Yingluck said some areas were natural basins and would need pumps to flush the flood water out.

According to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, inundation has now ravaged 22 provinces and upset the lives of 5,148,327 people. The flood-related death count has risen to 562.