Chao Phraya River Brims Over in Many Areas; Flood Barriers Breached

The reason Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard has so many people driving into the area to find food , water and shelter is due to the freakish phenomena of the overflowing Chao Phraya River  water, billions of  cubic meters of retention water from the northern dams that were opened to prevent bursting and the occasional heavy rainstorms.

These factors combined create an amount of ground water never seen in Thailand with  the water is rushing as fast as 1 million to 15 million cubic meters per minute in some places.

The last flood in Bangkok even close to this amount of water was 69 years ago when the population of Bangkok was half of today’s census.

Another flood 16 years ago also hit Bangkok causing more damage because the population and assets had increased since the prior flood.

The Maha Sawas Canal is about to brim over and all the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) can do is encourage people to evacuate, said Chainat Niyomthoon, deputy director of the BMA Drainage and Sewerage Department at a press conference.

It is impossible to stop water flowing that fast and in such a huge quantity. This is why His Majesty the King has told officials to just let the water flow through Bangkok and in a week or so it will all pass out to sea.

The west of Bangkok faces the risk of being under a meter of water, a senior official from the BMA said.

"The water will likely cover the entire western zone of Bangkok, with the level ranging between 50 centimeters and one meter," Chainat Niyomthoon added..

Bangkok's western zone lies on the Thon Buri side of the Chao Phraya River.

Many areas of the Thawee Watthana district, which is on the Thon Buri side, were already submerged and residents of the Sala Thammasop sub district have been ordered to evacuate.

Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra has also spoken of the possibility of evacuating more areas. "We may order evacuation in the Thawee Watthana sub district as well," he said.

The Bangkok Governor added, “Because the embankments built to control the millions of cubic meters of water heading for Bangkok seem to be damaged in many places. For instance, the sandbag barrier at the Puranawas Temple has already crumbled down. “

Apart from the run-off from upstream provinces, the Chao Phraya River also looks likely to overflow.

Sukhumbhand said the river's level would likely rise between 2.5 and 2.6 meters above sea level. The Chao Phraya River has already swelled beyond the 2.5-metre-high embankment in many parts of Bangkok, giving residents a taste of what they can expect.

The water flowed into some inner zones of the capital such as Charoenkrung and Maharaj roads. A part of Charoenkrung Road, leading from Soi Charoenkrung 35 to Yaowaraj, is impassable to cars.

Areas around the Phrachan and Tha Chang piers also bore the brunt, with floods on Maharat and Phrachan roads rising to nearly one meter very quickly.

Water from the river also flowed into Na Phra That Road, going towards the City Pillar shrine and the Supreme Court. A part of the Arun-Amarin Road that leads to Siriraj Hospital was also under chest-high floods.

Floods have already ravaged many parts of the capital even without the high tide. Run-offs from upstream provinces are now breaching flood barriers and wreaking havoc in northern Bangkok. Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road in front of Don Mueang Airport has been closed to traffic due to flooding.

The raging run-offs are also filling many canals to the brim, and the torrent flowing into Phra Khanong Canal cracked a 15-metre stretch of the embankment, flooding local communities, such as the Suan Sai Community, which was under chest-high water. Sukhumvit Sois 50, 54 and 56 were also inundated.