Froc sends City Hall new batch of pumps

The Flood Relief Operations Command will speed the delivery of many more water pumps to City Hall to help it drain floodwater from the capital.

The move follows the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) plan to drain floodwater out of all swamped main roads in Bangkok in a fortnight.

Earlier, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra had asked for additional water pumps from the Froc which promptly sent 24 pumps to the BMA.

Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok, who is also Froc director, said yesterday the Froc had decided to earmark about 50 million baht to buy 48 more water pumps capable of pumping water at 96 cubic metres per second. Installation of the pumps should be completed within the next 15 days.

Pol Gen Pracha also said there are an additional 17 pumps from the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning and six pumps from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment with the capacity to pump out water at 30 cu m/s and 6 cu m/s, respectively, both scheduled to be installed within the next seven days.

The Froc has gathered a total of 71 additional pumps from the original request of 60 pumps by the BMA. Total capacity would be 132 cu m/s, he said.

Pol Gen Pracha said there were also another 255 pumps donated by China. Installation would take 15 days.

"We [Froc and BMA] have to unite and consult each other in order to protect Bangkok from being completely inundated. Everyone can rest assured that the Froc and BMA are working together closely," he said.

Jumpol Samkaopol, deputy city clerk of BMA, said he is confident the new pumps from Froc will be sufficient and they will be placed at 41 pumping stations around the Phra Nakhon side (east of Chao Phraya River). The capacity is 600 cu m/s or 40 million cu m/day.

He said some pumps might be broken at the moment because of non-stop usage for two straight months and some pumps would need to be switched with the 71 pumps from Froc. 

About 500 donated pumps from China would be used to increase the capacity along the Chao Phraya River.

The BMA had also collaborated with the Froc in constructing floodwalls to stem the northern flow. If the floodwalls are completed, it would be easier to control water entering Khlong Song, Khlong Thanon and Khlong Lat Phrao which would allow lower Bangkok to be drained more quickly, he said.

Mr Jumpol said the pumps need to be used together with dykes and barriers to function properly. The dykes were there to help drain the area inside the dykes quicker.Cooperation from people would allow the pumps from Froc and China to drain water more effectively.

MR Sukhumbhand thanked Froc for responding to his call for more pumps.

He said the Froc's sending of water pumps had doubled the BMA's capacity to drain floodwater out of the capital.

He hoped the "big bag" barrier would help prevent another mass of floodwater from entering the city.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said she believed the floodwaters would recede from the city within the next two to three weeks based on information given at a Water Management Committee meeting yesterday.

She insisted the Froc headquarters would remain at the Energy Ministry regardless of the rising flood level.

"We don't want to keep running from the water. We have to learn to live with it and do our best," she said.