BANGKOK, 24 February 2012 – A disaster expert has advised the government to construct dams around the Gulf of Thailand, from Chachoengsao province to Cha-am district in Phetchaburi province.
National Disaster Warning Council chairman Smith Thammasaroj said that the proposed dams will protect inner areas of the country from flooding due to a higher sea level in the Gulf of Thailand. Mr Smith, who is also a member of the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management, or SCWRM, said scientific studies indicate that chances are definite for Thailand to be hit by natural disasters; however, the technology is still unable to tell when and where they will occur.
Mr Smith said man-made dams in China and Egypt are stimulating the collapse of the earth because both dams have sustained water that is supposed to flow to the equator.
The disaster expert predicted that tsunami could reoccur in possibly two locations of the country, namely the west coast of southern Thailand on the Andaman Sea, from Ranong to Satun provinces, and the east coast facing the Gulf of Thailand. According to him, the region that should be safest from flooding in Thailand is the Northeast. He cited a study by Harvard University academics as saying that Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, and Nakhon Pathom provinces would be permanently flooded in the future. He said, therefore, construction of dams around the Gulf is needed to prevent sea water from flowing in.
