Pattaya officials said their efforts to dredge canals and clear sewers are paying off as flooding from an April 1 storm drained in as little as 27 minutes.
City spokesman Pinit Maneerat documented the progress in battling Pattaya’s chronic flooding, noting that 90 minutes of heavy rain that afternoon caused only temporary inconvenience, instead of hours of gridlock and property damage.
On Soi Nongyai, the typically flooded spot near Pattaya School No. 7 was covered in water at 2:15 p.m., but was drained by 2:42, or just 27 minutes.
On Beach Road at Soi 6/1 and on Third Road at the Mum Aroi intersection – two often-inundated spots – city workers scrambled to clear garbage and leaves from drains and the water was gone within an hour.
Pinit said the average time across the city to drain the water was 30 minutes.
Rain fell steadily in Pattaya from 2-3:30 p.m., coming down at 26 millimeters per hour on Pratamnak Hill and 45 mm. per hour on Third Road. Other places were hit even harder.
But Pinit said that flooding turned out not to be a problem due to the vigorous effort put in by the city’s Engineering and Sanitation Department in recent months to dredge canals, suck out drains and clear sewers.
He pledged that further, more-permanent improvements to the city’s flood-drainage system were in the works. In the interim, people needing sandbags or pump services can call the Pattaya Contact Center at 1337.
