Freak storms would raise flood risk
Govt expects situation to improve on 2017
Flood-related problems will be less severe this year unless the country faces freak storms, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Grisada Boonrach said yesterday.
He said agencies are ready to collaborate and have prepared for the rainy season, which officially started last weekend. He drew particular attention to the Department of Royal Irrigation, which is now on full alert while monitoring the situation.
Mr Grisada said the government has got a better handle on the situation over the past two years and will continue to see improvements in 2018 by deploying more tools and staff to supervise the situation.
“We expect to have less rainfall this year. If we’re lucky enough to avoid any freak storms then we will be able to manage things just fine,” he said at a press conference.
The department has prepared water retention areas to siphon off some of the rainwater before it flows into the capital, and volunteers have helped to clean up Bangkok’s canals, he said.
Heavy rainfall will be seen in August and September and at least eight provinces remain susceptible to flooding, he added.
They are Ubon Ratchathani, Phare, Nan, Sukhothai, Uttaradit, Phitsanulok, Phichit and Nakhon Sawan.
The Thai Meteorological Department said the rainy season began on May 26 but there should be an easing-off period from mid-June to mid-July. The North will see the rainy season end in October with little impact from El Nino or La Nina, it added.
Thongplew Kongjun, chief of the Department of Royal Irrigation, said it expects total rainfall will be 10% less than the 30-year average. Last year it was 29% higher than the average.
He said the department has prepared 382,000 rai of paddy in Phitsanulok’s Bang Rakam district and 1.2 million rai of 12 natural water retention zones along the Chao Phraya River basin.
This will help cushion the impact of heavy rains as they can collect a combined 2.05 billion cubic metres, or triple the capacity of the Pasak Jolasid dam, he said, adding the department will divert water into the lower 12 water retention zones in early October after the harvest.
He further added that the Department of Fisheries has prepared for various kinds of fish to be released in these zones as an additional source of income for farmers.
The department has been keeping a close eye on 43 reservoirs nationwide that are at 80% capacity by working with local administrative organisations (LOAs) so that the water is discharged gradually, he said. The department has also directed local authorities to clear all water hyacinths out of irrigation waterways, he added.
The names and contact details of those in charge will be made public so that people can contact them if they find masses of plants of other objects obstructing the waterways.
At present some 45.84 billion cu/m of water is being stored in the nation’s dams, leaving room for a further 30.08 billion cu/m, the department said.
The four big dams along the Chao Phraya River basin are at 52% capacity (12.97 billion cu/m), some 2.04 billion cu/m above the level at this time last year, it added.