Thursday 8 December 2011

Froc: Remaining floodwater no threat to Bangkok

There are still about eight billion cubic metres of floodwater to the north of Bangkok, but the city itself is safe from any fresh inundation, water management adviser to the Flood Relief Operations Command (Froc) Anond Snidvongs said Wednesday.

He would consult with the strategic committee on a national water resources management system on measures to manage the leftover water.

Mr Anond said there were around eight billion cu m of northern runoff still in the Central provinces, to the north.

About half of this must be stored for farm use. The rest has already flowed into local waterways, but the overflow would hardly bother the capital.

In Bangkok and nearby provinces, the flooded area has shrunk from 2.7 million rai on Nov 12 to a million rai - and most of this area was in paddy fields and grassy areas in the western districts of Bangkok.

He said there was only a small volume of floodwater still on the eastern side of Bangkok, because the water had been drained out faster than expected through the Bang Pakong River.

Mr Anond added that in the future the strategic committee on a national water resources management system would have to lay out the new structure for water management facilities to the west and east of Bangkok.

He anticipated that after all flooded areas were dry, many people would try to prevent future flooding of their own places by building walls or elevating their land surface.

The strategic committee would soon set regulations to ensure all floodwalls and land elevating activities meet a standard.

The criteria would be in line with the Environment Act, while the committee would monitor the erection of flood walls and the land elevation activities through satellite photos, said Mr Anond.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) today reported that the level of the flood at Bang Sai had dropped by 11 centimetres overnight to 2.29 metres above sea level.

On the Phra Nakhon side of the capital, the water level in lower Hok Wa was down by 5cm, down by 8cm at Don Muang and 4cm at Mahasawat canal.

While the Thon Buri and Bang Prom canals were overflowing by 4cm Bang Waek was right at the brim and Bang Chuek remained stable.

Saen Saeb had fallen by 3-5cm, Prawet 1cm, Lad Phrao 2-6cm, Praem Prachagorn 2cm, Baen Kaen 1-2 cm, and northern Thon Buri 4-5cm, the BMA reported.

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