Historical flood scene in Thailand

Thai people are dealing with the worst " cataclysm " in half a century. Flood water will recede but its consequences will definitely persist.

Thai people are no stranger to floods and flooding. Every year, when the flood season comes, images of houses in northern and central Thailand are flooded. However, flooding on a large scale with a huge volume of water like this year, many new people for the first time in their life witnessed it.

The development of the "great deluge"

From the end of July, heavy rains began to fall to the north and highlands in central Thailand. Water accumulates from subsequent rains that flow into the Chao Phraya, Chi and Mun rivers, before continuing to flow into the Mekong River, causing the water levels in these rivers to rise. The situation is more serious when the impact of Typhoon Nock increases the rainfall in northern and northeastern Thailand, causing rapid widespread flooding.

At the end of August, heavy rains continued to fall due to the influence of La Nina phenomenon. Many northern and central Thai provinces were heavily flooded, many even recording record high water levels for decades.

Floodwaters gradually rose in Don Muong airport in Bangkok,
with the water level up to 90cm, causing the Operation Center to escape flood
You must also evacuate here. (Photo: Bangkok Post )

Drainage control systems, including inter-arch dams, irrigation canals and reservoirs, all operate at full capacity, but in the end were not enough to prevent flooding from rising and returning. southern. A drainage tunnel system started in 2001 was also used to prevent flooding, especially for the capital, Bangkok, which is located at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, which drains water into the Gulf of Thailand.

Facing the danger and complex developments of the last 3 months of floods, the Thai government mobilized all possible resources to prevent floods to attack Bangkok, a political, cultural and economic center. . of the whole country. Thousands of soldiers and a lot of people put together millions of sandbags to create flood protection dikes in the northern line of Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra warned that if the worst situation occurred, the city of 12 million people could be flooded to 1.5m, meaning that all activities here would be stalled.

In October, the floodwaters spread throughout Thailand, and a huge amount of water rushed to Bangkok. Flood protection dikes are disabled when flood water rises very quickly and exceeds the height of the dyke. Even some sections of the dyke were broken before the large flow of flood water.

Thailand was forced to consider a solution to break down some roads in the eastern part of Bangkok to create canals leading floodwater to flow to this side, then to the sea, to avoid the city center from sighting. flooding. Yesterday, in the first positive signal, Prime Minister Yingluck said that the flood could be withdrawn within the next few days and the situation will gradually improve.

Where does the flood come from?

Many Thai people wonder why their country faces a historic flood in the past 3 months. There are many reasons, but first, there must be a sudden heavy rain pouring down for a long time in northern and central Thailand. Statistics show that total rainfall in the first 9 months of 2011 in many Thai regions is higher than average rainfall during this period of the past three decades. In Chiang Mai, the total rainfall in the first 3 quarters of the year was 140% higher, in 196% in Lamphun, 177% in Lampang, 153% in Uttaradit and 146% in Phitsanulok. These figures show that 2010 is a year when rainfall falls on Thailand to peak.

In addition to the objective reasons mentioned above, the "great deluge" in Thailand also originates from subjective causes. Due to the lack of equipment needed to predict long-term and heavy rainfall, Thailand's National Bureau of Meteorology was unable to accurately predict rainfall and lead to irrational adjustments.

The map shows the flooding risk of different areas at
Bangkok capital. The level of risk increases with the gradual increase in color
green. (Graphics: Disaster Warning Center, Rangsit University, Bangkok Post, Microsoft)

Thailand's dams, including the largest dam named Bhumibol or Sirikit dam (which together control 22% of the Chao Phraya river's water), have accumulated a lot of water instead of having to gradually discharge, for the purpose of reserve. enough water for agriculture in the upcoming dry season. Therefore, when heavy rains occur on a large scale, the water levels in the rivers rise, many dams cannot take more water to regulate the flood flow. After a while, when the water level in the dams is high, these dams are forced to discharge and the situation becomes more serious.

In addition to inaccurate forecasts of weather events, the subsidence of land subsidence due to excessive groundwater extraction and high tides are the next causes of Thailand's historic flood. A typical example to see these two causes is the city of Bangkok, where land plots are lower than the annual sea level. The high tide plus the on-site rainfall is also very large, making Bangkok inherently faced with the possibility of flooding even if the historic flood did not occur.

When the ground in Bangkok and some coastal areas of Thailand were lowered, this place was like a depression and floodwaters would pour in. The storm surge causes the flood to escape to the sea more slowly, leading to flooding.

Consequence

After 3 months of sinking in the historic flood, Thailand has suffered severe consequences and all statistics are only initial estimates. Prime Minister Yingluck said on October 17 that Thailand's reconstruction after flooding could cost about $ 3.3 billion, while an estimated economic loss of about $ 4.9 billion is equivalent. with about 1.3 to 1.5% of annual gross domestic product. Thai Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala said the floods could also cause the country's economic growth to drop to 1.7% this year.

A little girl walks in the floodwaters near the river
Chao Phraya in Bangkok capital on October 24. (Photo: AFP)

At least 381 people were killed in the " cataclysm " , while the lives of about 2.3 million people were affected by the floods. About 113,000 people now live in 1,700 evacuation zones established throughout Thailand. The historic flood directly affected one third of the province and three quarters of Thailand, including 300,000 hectares of agricultural land.

Floodwaters will be withdrawn, maybe in the next few days or longer, but the consequences it leaves will definitely persist. Thailand's manufacturing industry suffered a severe blow, when 930 factories in 28 provinces were seriously affected. Production activities are stagnant, leading to many people not having or losing their jobs, a factor that will make social problems difficult to solve. White flooded fields will also have a big impact on Thailand's agricultural output this year.

With all the consequences for Thailand, the historic flood in 2011 was considered the worst " cataclysm " ever in terms of the huge amount of water and the number of people affected.