Builders told to remove all debris from waterways as Bangkok prepares for deluge

The country is expected to be hit with heavy rain all this week.

“Construction sites are a weak point of Bangkok’s flood relief efforts,” Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Monday. “I have ordered the BMA [Bangkok Metropolitan Administration]’s civil engineering department to speed up the maintenance work it is doing on Thepharak Road. I have also asked the Department of Highways to dredge up sewers to prevent debris from work being done on Chaeng Wattana Road from blocking the waterway.

“As for construction projects that could jeopardise the city’s drainage system, we call on developers to postpone their work until the rainy season has passed. I also want them to check their sites to ensure sewers and waterways are not being obstructed,” he said.

Deputy Bangkok governor Wissanu Subsomphon, meanwhile, said the runoff from the North into the Chao Phraya River is “not worrying”. He said the rate of flow recorded in Ayutthaya’s Bang Sai district was 1,800 cubic metres per second, which is far lower than the critical level of 2,500 cubic metres per second.

“The BMA has spent the last three months preparing for the runoffs from the North by dredging 32 canals, cleaning 3,357 kilometres of sewers and unblocking 1,665km of waterways,” Wissanu said.

“We have also checked all water-pumping facilities so they are in good condition and can be ready for operation 24/7.”

Meanwhile, the Thai Meteorological Department said on Monday that Thailand will be hit with isolated heavy to very heavy rain until Sunday, due to the monsoon trough across the North and Northeast, and the southwest monsoon over the rest of Thailand, the Andaman Sea and the Gulf that will strengthen from Thursday onward.

The department has warned people to beware of flash floods and runoffs, especially along waterways near foothills and lowlands all this week.