A day after the water receded from Pattaya’s first big flood of the year, social media remained inundated with photos of the damage the heavy rain brought, with scathing criticism of city hall lackluster performance in solving the perennial problem.
The near-universal opinion online was the more city hall works to end flooding, the worse it gets.
Online users pointed to both sides of railway parallel road between sois Khao Noi and Khao Talo, where floodwaters ran very deep, almost reaching the top of the cars. Some cars broke down in the middle of the road and people had to push them out of the flood in the rain.
Soi Nernplabwan and Soi Khao Noi are low lying and have poor drainage systems and also flooded. A large amount of garbage floated in the raging water, scenes that residents said they become accustomed to.
Flood in Soi Siam Country Club, where cars were half-submerged.
Pattaya Beach was severely damaged and filled with garbage. Pattaya has mobilized disaster mitigation officials to survey the damage and provide help to residents.
Previously the city has carried out many projects to counter flooding, such as installing water pumps and laying new drainage pipes along Beach Road. But residents said they think 80 percent of the problems still remain.
There also was widespread skepticism about the under-construction traffic-bypass tunnel under Sukhumvit Road. While engineers insist the entrances to the tunnels will be elevated three meters to prevent flooding, witnesses to city hall’s seemingly futile efforts to solving endemic flooding are putting little stock in the promises of public officials.
