Bangkok - Floods cause morning peak-hour traffic delays

Bang Na hardest hit with 138mm rainfall

The Bang Na district was the hardest hit by freak rainfall early on Wednesday, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s drainage and sewerage department reported.

At 10.30am, the department said Bang Na district had accumulated rainfall of 138 millimetres from rains that started at about 5am.

The department said variable rainfall happened in Yannawa, Klong Toei, Vadhana, Phayathai, Ratchathevi, Huay Kwang, Din Daeng, Wang Thong Lang, Bang Kapi, Saphan Sung, Suan Luang, Phra Khanon, Prawet and Bang Na districts.

The Meteorological Department has predicted heavy rainfalls this week as a harbinger of another sharp drop in temperature. Forecasters attribute this to a high pressure mass that has moved down from China into Vietnam and Thailand.

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 Floods cause morning peak-hour traffic delays

 Several Bangkok roads suffered minor flooding after the capital was hit with freak rains early on Wednesday, worsening traffic congestions during the morning rush hours.

The rains started at about 5am in several districts, including Bang Khun Thian, Thung Khuru, Phra Khanong, Bang Na, Prawet, Suang Luang, Klong Toei, and Vadhana, resulting in floods in many parts of the capital.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Drainage and Sewerage Department reported that Bang Na was the worst hit, with rainfall of 115.5 millimetres.

Among the flooded roads was Sukhumvit Road inbound near the Bearing BTS station. It was under 10 to 15 centimetres of water and vehicles were tailed-back for about 100 metres.

At 7.15 am, flooding affected Sri Nakharin outbound at the Bearings Intersection, causing severe congestion, with vehicles tailed-back to the Sri Thepha intersection.

Source - TheNation

 

#Malaysia - Penang reports rising number of flood victims

The number of flood victims in Penang continues to rise with 5,845 recorded on Monday morning.

They are currently being sheltered at 62 evacuation centres.

The number of evacuees on Sunday night was 3,779.

Seberang Perai Utara district recorded the highest number of flood victims with 3,371, who are being housed at 30 centres, followed by Seberang Perai Tengah district with 2,119 staying at 27 centres.

The affected areas in Seberang Perai Utara are Sungai Dua, Nyior Sebatang, Lahar Yooi and Desa Murni while those in Seberang Perai Tengah are Kampung Tanjung Putus and Permatang Tinggi.

Thirty-three people are being sheltered at one centre in Seberang Perai Selatan district; 130 victims at two centres in Barat Daya district; and 192 people at two centres in Timur Laut district.

Meanwhile, Royal Malaysian Police, Civil Defence Force and Fire and Rescue Department personnel have been up and about from 6am to assist Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) students get to their schools for the respective examinations.

Almost the whole of Penang is flooded, with several areas inundated by 0.2m to 1m of floodwaters as a result of heavy rain and strong winds since Thursday.

The flood, reported to be the worst the state has ever experienced, has claimed seven lives.

Source - TheNation

 

#Thailand - Chiang Mai - Waterfall shut to visitors, area at risk of flooding

Officials have placed the famous Mae Ya Waterfall in Chiang Mai off limits to visitors after the area was hit by the highest rainfall of the year and was in danger of flooding.

Doi Inthanon National Park chief Rung Hiranwong said the tourist attraction had had 175 millimetres of rain in a short period of time, so officials had decided it should be temporarily shut.

Earlier on Tuesday, local communities in downstream villages at Tambon Ban Luang were also alerted to the possibility of flash floods.

As the northern weather cools down for winter, the temperature on top of Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest mountain and a popular tourist destination, fell to 10-16 degrees Celsius in the mornings.

Rung said as many as 5,379 tourists visited the park over the weekend, which was also extended into a three-day vacation due to the public holiday, King Chulalongkorn Day, on October 23.

Source - TheNation

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Floodwaters can carry deadly disease, DDC warns

People living in flooded areas have been warned to keep time spent wading through water to a minimum lest they be infected with melioidosis, a disease that has claimed 21 lives this year.

Department of Disease Control (DDC) chief Dr Jessada Chokdamrongsuk reported on Monday that 1,978 cases of melioidosis had been reported from January 1 to August 22.

The disease, caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei and prevalent during the rainy season in the subtropics, peaks every August in Thailand and has been wider spread this year, he said. 

The bacterium thrives in contaminated water and soil and infects humans and animals through direct contact. 

“People could get infected from prolonged exposure to contaminated water or soil, especially if they have any open sores or lesions in the skin,” Jessada said. “Infection can also come from consuming contaminated water or food.” 

Melioidosis produces a variety of acute and severe symptoms, he said, including long-lasting fever with no other apparent cause, ulcers or abscesses in the lungs, liver or spleen, and blood infections. 

The disease, which mainly affects adults, can fatal, he said. Death has been known to result within 2-3 days of admission to hospital. 

Risk factors for infection include chronic respiratory and lung disease, tuberculosis, diabetes, chronic renal disease, thalassemia, cancer, and immune-suppressing conditions unrelated to HIV.

Jessada advised people coming into regular contact with floodwater to wear boots, drink only water that’s been boiled, avoid raw and partially cooked food, wash immediately after exposure and seek medical attention if a fever persists for more than five days or abscesses become chronic. 

Source - TheNation

 

#Myanmar (Burma) - Over 200,000 people displaced by floods

 

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Over 200,000 people were displaced in floods brought about by monsoon rains in various parts of the country, the rescue and resettlement department said Thursday.

The agency said that from July 1 to August 10, a total of 208,450 people from 51,774 households have fled their homes due to floods.

Among the areas badly hit by flood were parts Sagaing Region, Magwe Region, Chin State, Bago Region, Kayin State, Ayeyarwady Region, Mon State, Nay Pyi Taw, Rakhine State, Shan State and Tanintharyi Region.

Rescue camps in Sagaing Region, Magwe Region, Kayin State, Nay Pyi Taw, Rakhine State, Yangon Region and Tanintharyi Region were closed on Aug 10, but some 69,697 evacuees remained in the camps as of August 10.

Dr. Kyaw Moe Oo, meteorology and hydrology department deputy director, warned people – especially those living near river banks – to be always especially when there is heavy rains.

“If river level rises again and it rains more, there will be floods again. But it cannot be as bad as in 2015,” he said, adding that rain is normal this year.

“In 2015 but monsoon was strong and there were storms. Therefore, conditions were worse. Currently, depressions are mainly formed in the internal areas of India and Bangladesh,” he said.

The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology said that at this time the Chindwin river level can rise again and it can reach up to danger level mark in Hkamti and Homalin and there might be more rains in upper Sagaing Region, Kachin State and Rakhine State within next two days.

Source - mmtimes

Bangkok flooding is chronic problem

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BMA officials admit they cannot cope with heavy rains as experts blame infrastructure and lack of preparedness.

BANGKOK WILL continue to experience flooding after heavy rains unless water-drainage problems including roads and canals are solved, water-management experts have said.

Heavy rain was to blame for yesterday’s floods in 25 areas around Bangkok after up to 170 millimetres of rain fell on the capital on Wednesday night, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) stated. 

Bangkok faced the prospect of more flooding as the Meteorological Department predicted more heavy rains last night and this morning.

 The heavy rains turned many streets of the city into canals and seriously worsened rush-hour traffic, causing many commuters to arrive late at work or school. One of the worst flooded areas was the Lat Phrao intersection at Ratchadaphisek Road, where the floodwaters reached about 30 centimetres and seriously disrupted traffic.

“Moreover, we could not drain the floodwater out of the street properly, because the canals were already full of water from the rains, even though we had decreased the water levels in the canals in advance.”

Sitang Pilailar, a lecturer at the Water Resources Engineering Department at Kasetsart University, said the reasons the BMA cited were chronic problems for the city.

“Bangkok will still flood every time after heavy rain, if the water cannot drain from the roads to the drainage pipes and to the canals properly,” Sitang said.

She said the first problem was that the drainage system mixed with the sewer system, so pipes were already full of wastewater. Moreover, during the floods in 2011, sand was dumped into the drainage system that had not been cleared out completely, lessening the capacity of the city’s drainage pipes by half.

Another problem was lack of preparation before the rain, Sitang said, adding the BMA usually received weather predictions from the Meteorological Department so water levels in the canals could be lowered in advance, but this time the BMA had not performed well.

“In addition to these problems, we still have the issue that many old communities suffer from chronic flooding because their location is lower than street level, so the water from the road drains into their communities instead of into the drainage pipes. The garbage in the drainage system is also significant, as many people still throw litter into drainage pipes and canals,” Sitang said.

“This is a task for all of us to tackle. The BMA has to be better prepared for flooding and maintain the drainage system to make sure that it can work properly, while the people also have to avoid clogging the drainage system with garbage if we want to sustainably solve the flooding problem in Bangkok.”

Source - TheNation

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