Thais let floods run through Bangkok
Source: Agencies |
October 21, 2011, Friday
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THAILAND'S prime minister acknowledged yesterday that efforts to block floodwaters from entering the Bangkok are failing and authorities will instead risk overflow with a controlled release of water through the city's canals.
Yingluck Shinawatra said every means to slow the water entering Bangkok had been tried, so at least some must be allowed to drain through the city.
Authorities had been trying to keep floodgates closed and bolster barriers along waterways carrying a deluge of water from the north. The result has been floods inundating homes and factories in areas north of the city.
"We must allow the water to flow through. Very little has been driven to the sea," Yingluck said.
The capital's governor confirmed yesterday the gates had been opened. It is not known what sections of Bangkok would experience flooding, or how badly.
Yingluck's government has been criticized for a confusing and inadequate response to the flooding, which began in August with heavy rains in northern Thailand.
By yesterday, the death toll in nationwide flooding had risen to 320, mostly from drowning, with nearly 9 million people affected and 28 of the country's 77 provinces still inundated.
Initial estimates of the economic cost of destroyed shops, paralyzed industry and swamped farmland were US$3 billion, but have since been rising.
Yingluck said the amount of water still flowing from the north was many times that which was flowing out to the sea.
She said: "There is no way to drain the water because we are blocking it. Sometimes blocking the water causes the barriers to deteriorate, because we did not design them to act as dams.
"We have exhausted every resource we have to slow down the water, be they damming or water retention areas."
She said Bangkok's city government had agreed to cooperate in the new plan to drain water.
Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Patibatra said the city had opened water gates at every spot, including canals in inner Bangkok, to force a runoff to the sea.
The capital has so far escaped serious flooding, thanks to dikes, underground tunnels and other defenses, though floodwaters have been seeping into some northern neighborhoods.
However, mixed messages from officials about whether Bangkok will be swamped has fueled fear and confusion over how grave the threat is.
Yesterday, some international schools closed and nervous commuters began parking cars on elevated expressways on the northern side of the capital to keep them safe.
Authorities this week said they have suspended operations at four major power plants in the provinces of Phichit, Nakhon Ratchasima and Ayutthaya - all north of Bangkok - due to flooding.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand said other plants are making up the shortfall, however, and there has been no effect on total output.
Heavy monsoon rains and storms have ravaged Asia this year. The United Nations said at least 745 people have been killed since July in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines - a quarter of them children.
Yingluck Shinawatra said every means to slow the water entering Bangkok had been tried, so at least some must be allowed to drain through the city.
Authorities had been trying to keep floodgates closed and bolster barriers along waterways carrying a deluge of water from the north. The result has been floods inundating homes and factories in areas north of the city.
"We must allow the water to flow through. Very little has been driven to the sea," Yingluck said.
The capital's governor confirmed yesterday the gates had been opened. It is not known what sections of Bangkok would experience flooding, or how badly.
Yingluck's government has been criticized for a confusing and inadequate response to the flooding, which began in August with heavy rains in northern Thailand.
By yesterday, the death toll in nationwide flooding had risen to 320, mostly from drowning, with nearly 9 million people affected and 28 of the country's 77 provinces still inundated.
Initial estimates of the economic cost of destroyed shops, paralyzed industry and swamped farmland were US$3 billion, but have since been rising.
Yingluck said the amount of water still flowing from the north was many times that which was flowing out to the sea.
She said: "There is no way to drain the water because we are blocking it. Sometimes blocking the water causes the barriers to deteriorate, because we did not design them to act as dams.
"We have exhausted every resource we have to slow down the water, be they damming or water retention areas."
She said Bangkok's city government had agreed to cooperate in the new plan to drain water.
Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Patibatra said the city had opened water gates at every spot, including canals in inner Bangkok, to force a runoff to the sea.
The capital has so far escaped serious flooding, thanks to dikes, underground tunnels and other defenses, though floodwaters have been seeping into some northern neighborhoods.
However, mixed messages from officials about whether Bangkok will be swamped has fueled fear and confusion over how grave the threat is.
Yesterday, some international schools closed and nervous commuters began parking cars on elevated expressways on the northern side of the capital to keep them safe.
Authorities this week said they have suspended operations at four major power plants in the provinces of Phichit, Nakhon Ratchasima and Ayutthaya - all north of Bangkok - due to flooding.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand said other plants are making up the shortfall, however, and there has been no effect on total output.
Heavy monsoon rains and storms have ravaged Asia this year. The United Nations said at least 745 people have been killed since July in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines - a quarter of them children.
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