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Floods threaten remains of ancient Thai capital
Source: Agencies |
November 14, 2011, Monday
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WATER fowl, monitor lizards and stray dogs have replaced the throngs of tourists at one of Thailand's greatest historical sites.
Record flooding has turned Ayutthaya's ancient temples into islands, and a giant statue of the reclining Buddha appears to float miraculously on the lapping water.
Experts fear at least half of the more than 200 waterlogged monasteries, fortresses and other monuments in the one-time royal capital have been damaged.
Chaiyanand Busayarat, director of the Ayutthaya Historic Park, said: "Imagine a thousand tons of brick and stone resting on soft foundations, with no modern-style pilings. We are very worried."
As floodwaters recede, experts are proposing a radical change to prevent similar disasters in the future - turn back the clock about four centuries to emulate the city's urban planners and engineers of that time.
Anek Sihamat, deputy director-general of the Thai government's Fine Arts Department, said: "We cannot prevent flooding so we have to learn to live with water again, like those who created Ayutthaya. Let us take out the old city maps."
He recommended digging up old canals that have been paved over and curbing the urban sprawl and industrial parks that block natural water runoff.
Capital of a powerful state for over four centuries, and the seat of 33 kings, Ayutthaya has been described as one of the greatest cities on water, with a canal network measuring more than 140 kilometers.
Built on central Thailand's flood plain at the confluence of three rivers, it was inundated annually, but its citizens lived in houses on stilts and used boats for transport.
Water also defended Ayutthaya, which once held as many as 1 million residents, until a sacking by the Burmese in 1767 forced relocation of the capital to Bangkok.
Record flooding has turned Ayutthaya's ancient temples into islands, and a giant statue of the reclining Buddha appears to float miraculously on the lapping water.
Experts fear at least half of the more than 200 waterlogged monasteries, fortresses and other monuments in the one-time royal capital have been damaged.
Chaiyanand Busayarat, director of the Ayutthaya Historic Park, said: "Imagine a thousand tons of brick and stone resting on soft foundations, with no modern-style pilings. We are very worried."
As floodwaters recede, experts are proposing a radical change to prevent similar disasters in the future - turn back the clock about four centuries to emulate the city's urban planners and engineers of that time.
Anek Sihamat, deputy director-general of the Thai government's Fine Arts Department, said: "We cannot prevent flooding so we have to learn to live with water again, like those who created Ayutthaya. Let us take out the old city maps."
He recommended digging up old canals that have been paved over and curbing the urban sprawl and industrial parks that block natural water runoff.
Capital of a powerful state for over four centuries, and the seat of 33 kings, Ayutthaya has been described as one of the greatest cities on water, with a canal network measuring more than 140 kilometers.
Built on central Thailand's flood plain at the confluence of three rivers, it was inundated annually, but its citizens lived in houses on stilts and used boats for transport.
Water also defended Ayutthaya, which once held as many as 1 million residents, until a sacking by the Burmese in 1767 forced relocation of the capital to Bangkok.
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