Flood action at long last

It’s the first time a leader has accepted the root cause of the problem and promised to have it fixed. This in contrast to previous efforts which were passive, if not cosmetic.

The government’s announcement that it will tackle the floods on a long-term basis is something we have been waiting a long time for. The need for long-term action against flooding is critical as year after year we see parts of the country ravaged by downpours, resulting in the loss of lives and huge economic damage.

The latest casualty is the South where dozens of people have been killed and many communities and areas ravaged, causing billions of baht in damage.

Such a need was felt before when the country was hit by the “great flood” of 2011. The Yingluck Shinawatra administration worked out a big plan with a big budget. The initiative was noble, but public participation in the process was lacking and triggered public opposition. It was effectively dropped in the wake of the “Bangkok shutdown” political crisis that ended with the military’s intervention in 2014.

Since then, floods have become a yearly phenomenon in the country. In fact, it has become so regular that a pattern has emerged. The Northeast and lower parts of the North are the first regions to experience flooding when the monsoon rains arrive around June. With the run-off from the North, the Central Plains are the next to suffer and later as the rains move on the South is affected.

While the government blames the torrential rains for the heavy floods in the South, this year’s being the worst in two decades, poor city planning and badly designed roads and highways that block waterways make the situation worse. The lack of effective warning systems turns a problem into a crisis, and that is unforgivable.

In unveiling the anti-flood plan earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said authorities will tighten town planning procedures, banning people from building houses or other structures that block water channels.

It is the first time a leader has acknowledged the root cause of the problem and promised to fix it. This contrasts with previous efforts to solve the problem, which were quick-fix, superficial responses.

Gen Prawit said the government will choose the city of Pattaya to pilot the drainage system and officials will study whether machinery can divert water from a flooded area to the sea within one to two hours after heavy rain.

What remains unclear is the timeline — when will the plan be finished and translated into action and who will be involved?

Gen Prawit and the government, however, have failed to make it clear what they will do with the many buildings and structures — factories, housing estates and roads — that are already sitting on floodway zones.

When confronted by the media about possible action, he simply ducked the question.

It is those structures that aggravated the flooding situation in 2011 and it is for those reasons the South was inundated this year.

With modern technology, it is not too difficult to find those ill-placed structures. Such agencies, like the Irrigation Department and local administration agencies, are supposed to have floodway maps, and areas that serve as gaem ling (monkey cheek) water-retention zones that must be protected.

This is not easy but we hope the deputy prime minister is brave enough to put an end to the problem. Those structures must be dealt with in due course or the anti-flood plan will be nothing but a wasted effort.