Phasakorn Channgam
There’s more evidence Pattaya Beach continues to wash
away as the city drags its feet on erosion-mitigation plans. Seasonal
rains and insufficient drainage systems are now taking chunks of the
beachfront near the Hard Rock Hotel out to sea.
Persistent flooding that follows nearly every heavy
rain in Pattaya is sending torrents of water to Beach Road, where it
flows over the sidewalks and down onto the sand. Combined with the
whipped-up seas, the sandy beachfront is now becoming a truly hard rock
surface in front of the popular resort.
A university study recently predicted Pattaya Beach
will disappear due to erosion in as few as five years. Yet the city
still has not launched any program to reverse that. Even worse,
Pattaya’s inability to get flooding under control and improve its
rain-runoff drainage system is making matters worse.
No amount of sandbags city officials dump on the beach is going to
work until officials fix the drains, solve the flooding problem and
begin serious efforts to combat erosion.
