BANGKOK, Sept 21 – Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and Irrigation Department experts met Friday to speed drainage of large volumes of water more effectively in light of expected heavy downpours.
Bangkok deputy governor Vallop Suwandee said after the meeting that the capital has encountered a large amount of water due to continued heavy rains, combined with water drainage from the northern part of country.
He said the BMA and the irrigation department have worked closely to rapidly increase the capacity of the water drainage system, particularly in the eastern part of the city, in response to the expected heavy downpours in the next few days.
Concerned agencies will speed up water release through the Bangpakong River and the Gulf of Thailand, said Mr Vallop, pledging that the operations will not affect residents of Chachoengsao province.
He said the more dredging of main canals will take place, while more water-pushing machines and pumps will be installed in several flood-prone areas.
Regarding the current flooding in Bangkok, the deputy governor reaffirmed the BMA’s water drainage system is functioning at full capacity, especially the giant tunnels which helped drain water rapidly.
Following questions on the capacity of the BMA drainage system, such as giant tunnels, Mr Vallop explained that the city was still flooded in many areas as a result of heavy rains of more than 100-millimetres per hour at the same time in many areas, exceeding the capacity of the water drainage ditches which can handle only 80-millimetre/hour of rainfall.
Mr Vallop said new city planning is needed for the building new drainage ditch, but for the city’s newly extended areas such as Bang Khen and Ramindra, new ditches have already been installed to handle up to 100-millimetres/hour rainfall.
