Northeast provinces starIng Into eye of a tropical storm

All eyes are on Tropical Storm Nalgae, which is bringing more rainfall to the Northeast, particularly Ubon Ratchathani and Nakhon Phanom – the second blow to many provinces already submerged.
Together with reports that flood waters in the North and Central regions – now some 9,806 million cubic metres in volume – could take two months to subside, academics yesterday warned the South could expect floods and storms from October to December.
The floods in the Yom River Basin and Chao Phraya River Basin remain severe with villages in Phitsanulok’s Bang Rakham district and Ayutthaya’s Pha Hai and Bang Bal districts submerged for up to two months now.
Water Resources Department executive Boonjong Jarasdamrongnit said Thailand had 221 areas that flooded repeatedly each season. They were in 59 provinces and on the Central plain from Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan, Phichit to Ayutthaya’s Bang Prahan district. These areas used to retain water during the flood season, but changes in crop-cultivation and poor land use had caused problems of water diversion and drainage.
Meanwhile, the Royal Irrigation Department reported a total of 9,806 million cubic metres of flood water in the Northern and Central regions – the Yom and Nan river basins having 3,733 million cubic metres over 3.7 million rai of land, and the central region plains have 6,073 million cubic metres over 3.5 million rai of land.
A source at the department said the water would take about two months to subside from 1-2 metres deep to about 20cm deep, provided there was no more rainfall.
As the volume of flood water was similar to previous years, the very deep flood in some areas this time might have been caused by dykes in various places preventing flood waters from spreading evenly. All provinces should review their flood barrier plans to see if water could be retained in plantations/rice fields that were already harvested instead of letting it deluge residential areas, the source said.
Chulalongkorn University’s Department of Geology lecturer Thanawat Jarupongsakul yesterday expressed concern over the severe La Nina phenomenon, which had affected Thailand from last year until now. The Nalgae storm entering Vietnam today, was expected to pass through Ubon Ratchathani and Nakhon Phanom as a depression on October 7 before dissolving on October 9.
The Nalgae depression-triggered rainfall would inflict a second blow on the flooded areas, he said, urging the region’s dams to release water to support the coming rains. He warned that the Phetchabun plain could face landslides.
Warning that La Nina’s influence was still severe and that more storms were gathering in the South China Sea and possibly the Gulf of Thailand, he said the South would be greatly affected by flooding and disaster and Songkhla’s Hat Yai district might be heavily flooded as it was last year.
In the period October-December and possibly January there were likely to be storms in the South, especially in Chumphon and Surat Thani, he said.
There are over 5 billion cubic metres of flood water in Thailand, he said, urging authorities to evacuate residents at risk and manage water more systematically, including release of water from dams in areas anticipating heavy rainfalls or storms.
For the long-term, he urged more effective early warning systems, a master plan for crop-growing in low-lying areas, flood compensation for farmers, and more integrated and systematic work among agencies.
Urging Bangkok to build water-draining ways as a long-term solution, Thanawat urged dams to release water before brimming. Old dams, which might have up to 40 per cent sediment, needed to be excavated to boost their capacity to contain water.
As natural disasters would become severe, space should be available to support disaster evacuees in Ratchaburi, Suphan Buri, Saraburi and Chachoengsao, located within a 10-kilometre-radius of Bangkok, he added.