mack
10-16-2007, 12:36 PM
Floods head for Bangkok
From: The Nation (Tuesday Oct. 16th, 2007)
Run-off from upriver is now rushing toward Bangkok, flooding a number of provinces along the Chao Phya's course down to the Gulf of Thailand. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration yesterday held a meeting with the Royal Irrigation Department and the Office of the Royal Development Projects Board to discuss how to manage the water flow.
"We hope the water being released from the department's systems will not be more than 3,000 cubic metres per second," Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said. He said the Royal Irrigation Department was currently releasing water into the Chao Phya River at a rate of 2,517 cubic metres per second. Heavy downpours have already caused flooding in many parts of Bangkok. With the runoff from the North, the flood situation could become worrying. The Chao Phya yesterday overflowed in Sing Buri, which is about 142 kilometres north of the capital.
"We have warned local residents to brace for flooding," Sing Buri Governor Prapas Boonyindee said. "They should move their belongings to higher ground." He said temporary embankments were being built along the river in In Buri district. "We are delivering assistance urgently to affected people," he added.
In Angthong province, 105km from Bangkok, about 2,200 cubic metres of water per second are being released from the Angthong irrigation project, Governor Sutthana Thivirapanya said. "This has caused floods in many areas of the province. The flood situation is now worrying," he said. Son Klamthong, a resident of Angthong's Muang district, complained that the floods had damaged his house. "The water level rose rapidly overnight," he said. In Nakhon Ratchasima, floodwater was up to two metres deep in the worsthit areas. More than 1,000 houses in Nakhon Ratchasima municipality were under water, and local schools announced that the new semester would start only when the flooding subsided.
Many schools, which have already opened, suspended their classes in the face of rising floodwater. The Maharaj Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital remained open despite the rising flood. "We have more than 3,000 patients coming for treatment each day, so we will continue to provide our services," said acting hospital director Dr Veerasak Kiatpadungkul. Police officers and rescue workers assigned large trucks to ferry patients between the hospital and various spots in Muang Nakhon Ratchasima municipality. Heavy rainfall has also caused local canals to overflow.
From: The Nation (Tuesday Oct. 16th, 2007)
Run-off from upriver is now rushing toward Bangkok, flooding a number of provinces along the Chao Phya's course down to the Gulf of Thailand. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration yesterday held a meeting with the Royal Irrigation Department and the Office of the Royal Development Projects Board to discuss how to manage the water flow.
"We hope the water being released from the department's systems will not be more than 3,000 cubic metres per second," Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said. He said the Royal Irrigation Department was currently releasing water into the Chao Phya River at a rate of 2,517 cubic metres per second. Heavy downpours have already caused flooding in many parts of Bangkok. With the runoff from the North, the flood situation could become worrying. The Chao Phya yesterday overflowed in Sing Buri, which is about 142 kilometres north of the capital.
"We have warned local residents to brace for flooding," Sing Buri Governor Prapas Boonyindee said. "They should move their belongings to higher ground." He said temporary embankments were being built along the river in In Buri district. "We are delivering assistance urgently to affected people," he added.
In Angthong province, 105km from Bangkok, about 2,200 cubic metres of water per second are being released from the Angthong irrigation project, Governor Sutthana Thivirapanya said. "This has caused floods in many areas of the province. The flood situation is now worrying," he said. Son Klamthong, a resident of Angthong's Muang district, complained that the floods had damaged his house. "The water level rose rapidly overnight," he said. In Nakhon Ratchasima, floodwater was up to two metres deep in the worsthit areas. More than 1,000 houses in Nakhon Ratchasima municipality were under water, and local schools announced that the new semester would start only when the flooding subsided.
Many schools, which have already opened, suspended their classes in the face of rising floodwater. The Maharaj Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital remained open despite the rising flood. "We have more than 3,000 patients coming for treatment each day, so we will continue to provide our services," said acting hospital director Dr Veerasak Kiatpadungkul. Police officers and rescue workers assigned large trucks to ferry patients between the hospital and various spots in Muang Nakhon Ratchasima municipality. Heavy rainfall has also caused local canals to overflow.