Flood, then drought - the NEVER-ENDING CYCLE
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IT IS DISMAYING THAT THAILAND FACES ANOTHER NATURE-INCURRED CRISIS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN EASED THROUGH RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Four years ago this month vast swaths of Thailand began submerging beneath what was soon being called “the flood of the century”. Ultimately more than 12 million people in 65 of the 76 provinces were affected and damage was estimated at more than Bt1.4 trillion.
A series of severe storms was to blame, the rainfall quickly swamping major dams upcountry that were already full to capacity. As heavy rain continued in the North and Northeast, authorities were forced to release much of that dam charge, resulting in widespread flooding downstream, including in Bangkok, supposedly safe from such agonies by this point.
Disastrous conditions prevailed for the rest of the year, only abating in January 2012 when the last of the deluge drained into the Gulf.
Now, four years later, we are forced to grapple with the meteorological opposite – severe drought – with large areas of the country receiving no rain at all and major dams drying up as more water is daily released from reserves for domestic and agricultural use. The rainy season, usually well underway by this time, is keeping us waiting, and the consequences could be dire, perhaps even becoming catastrophic if conditions aren’t reversed soon. Thailand’s two largest dams are currently well under half their capacity. Bhumibol Dam in Tak province is about 70 per cent empty, Sirikit Dam in Uttaradit more than 65 per cent.
Rice farmers have been asked to postpone this season’s planting until the rains return, while disputes over irrigation water have begun among those who have already sown their fields. Efforts to offset
the tardiness of the rainy season by using artificial rainmaking techniques have proved insufficient.
In the capital, concern is growing over the continued availability of tap water. The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority has urged residents to conserve in order to prolong the supply until the rains arrive – though that could be as long as two months.
It is astonishing in this day and age that the country’s resource management remains at the mercy of nature’s whims. Surely we have suffered needlessly through enough crises by now that the authorities in charge are acutely aware of the need for sweeping improvements. The management of our water resources must become more effective and more systematic. If not, Thailand is destined to endure the same alternating problems – drought and flood – endlessly, or at least until the forecast effects of climate change render such seasonal difficulties moot.
It’s clear that our state agencies must begin working together more effectively to ensure that measures to prevent drought and flooding are in place and poised to be implemented promptly. They should be looking ahead and preparing in advance so they’re ready to head off these problems before they turn into national emergencies.
What the authorities must cease doing is reacting to a problem only when it becomes a crisis that can no longer be ignored. We need wholesale, proactive crisis management, not the cumulative, after-the-fact reactions that only serve to fatigue resources and deflate public confidence. Above all, we need a clear and decisive policy on water-resource management.
