Flood situation will not be as severe as in 2011, Chadchart assures Bangkokians. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt has assured Bangkok’s residents that although the capital will face a two-pronged battle of rising sea tides and floodwaters from upstream Friday to Sunday, the situation will not be as severe as in 2011. The Nation

Flood situation will not be as severe as in 2011, Chadchart assures Bangkokians

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt has assured Bangkok's residents that although the capital will face a two-pronged battle of rising sea tides and floodwaters from upstream Friday to Sunday, the situation will not be as severe as in 2011.

Chadchart gave the assurance while he and his deputy, Wisanu Subsompon, inspected a community on the Chao Phraya River bank in Dusit district on Wednesday night.

His team was accompanied by the director of the district office on a visit to the Wat Thewa Ratkunchorn community, which is located outside the boundary of flood levees.

About 45 of 100 houses in the community have been flooded after heavy rains and a rise in the level of Bangkok's main river.

Chadchart made the visit after the community chief urged the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to build a levee to protect the community from the overflowing river.

The governor told reporters there were three types of communities on the Chao Phraya's banks that are being affected by the overflowing river.

One is 16 communities located outside flood levees, with Wat Thewa Ratkunchorn residents being among them.

The other type is situated around 24 spots with no embankments due to certain reasons. The areas that lack the levees stretch to a distance of 3.2 kilometres. Officials have used sandbags to build temporary levees, Chadchart said.

The third type is situated at old levees which leak. Officials have installed pumps to drain water that is seeping in. They will fix the leaking embankments in the long run, Chadchart promised.

He said the BMA would closely monitor the water situation from Friday to Sunday, when the sea tide will rise and waters released from Pasak Jolasid Dam and Chao Phraya Dam enter Bangkok.

The Chao Phraya is able to handle a flow at the speed of 3,500 cubic metres per second without bursting the flood levees, the governor said.

He noted that in 2011, floodwaters streamed through the Chao Phraya at a speed of 4,500 cubic metres per second.

"The situation is not as serious as in 2011. It is far less severe," Chadchart assured reporters. "We know our weak points and I believe we can survive it. There are only some communities that may suffer from a little flooding."

He made it clear that it was not easy to expand the flood levees from the current boundary because it would require a lot of money, so the BMA was considering other measures to help communities at risk.

The BMA "will have time" to be prepared to handle the situation because it is closely monitoring the water flow rate at Bang Sai Station I Ayutthaya, Chadchart said, adding that he could not tell whether the situation would be aggravated by additional rains or not.

"I can't say whether there will be more rains or not as the world's climate has changed a lot. Anyway, cold winds have started. Without rains, we'll focus on coping with floodwaters from upstream provinces," the governor said.

He and senior BMA officials will on Thursday discuss how to use lessons learned this year to be prepared for coping with the flood/rain situation next year.

"We will make preparations by acquiring water pumps and dredging canals. Most of all, we'll draft a clear-cut operation plan. We can do it if we have more time to make preparations," Chadchart added.