FLOODING woes persist in Bangkok and its vicinity with heavy rain this afternoon (Sep. 30) leading to the area around the Thai National Memorial on the outbound side of Phaholyothin road getting badly flooded with motorists advised to avoid this route, Amarin TV said.
FM91 Trafficpro Facebook page issued this alert at 2.18 p.m. saying floodwaters remain steady while police officers from Khu Khot station had stepped in to assist motorists whose vehicles stalled while driving through the floodwaters.
FM91 Trafficpro also said that Bang Kapi district office is running two pumps at full capacity to drain out floodwaters from Ruam Kan Song community in Lat Phrao Soi 101 which are as high as 1.50 metres.
Meanwhile just a couple of hours after the Royal Irrigation Department announced that it is increasing Chao Phaya dam’s water discharge rate to 2,500 cubic metres per second from noon today (Sep. 30), Deputy Prime Minister Songsak Thongsri, chairman of the National Water Resources Committee, said only the release of 2,200 m3/s had been approved.
He clarified that while the department did submit such a request to the meeting, the committee approved a release rate of only 2,200 m3/s. He confirmed that established criteria govern these requests, as calculations must account for water inflows from the North and the excess volume flowing down to the Central region.
The committee agreed the water release must be carried out gradually in a phased manner. Bangkok is currently accelerating the flow of water out to sea to create capacity and as water levels drop, upstream water will gradually be released to replace it, thereby minimising the overall impact, he said.
Mr. Ekkapop Pianpiset, spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, explained that increasing the dam’s discharge rate would not cause additional flooding in Bangkok with the critical indicator for potential flooding in the capital being the flow rate from the Bang Ban–Bang Sai flood diversion canal. Bangkok would only be flooded again if the discharge reached a peak of 3,000 m3/s, whereas the current flow at that point is only 2,100 m3/s.
In another development, two thieves stole a volunteer’s boat and paddled away from a heavily inundated village in Pathum Thani’s Thanyaburi district.
Ms. Pornthip said she has been using her orange-colour boat to help her neighbours for four days and on Monday night (Sep. 28) after finishing her work at midnight she moored it to a utility pole in front of her house before going to bed.
The next morning, a neighbour shouted to inform her that the boat was missing. Upon checking CCTV footage, she discovered that two men had taken it. They paddled it a short distance then turned back, possibly because they spotted someone near the entrance, before escaping via the rear of the village.
The victim then called 191 emergency hotline but was instructed to file a formal report at the police station. However, due to severe flooding in the village and around the police station, going there was difficult. Consequently, the victim posted CCTV footage in a local Rangsit news group, asking the public for help finding clues and locate the stolen boat.
Reporters subsequently contacted Pol. Col. Adirek Photipan, superintendent of Pratu Nam Chulalongkorn police station, and Pol. Lt. Col. Somboon Songmeesinghasakul, the station’s inspector for crime suppression, with an investigation team then coming to the crime scene to inspect the area and review the CCTV footage, aiming to urgently track down the perpetrators and recover the stolen boat.
While a police team was there they saw how residents were suffering from the floods, which reached approximately 90cm, and immediately stepped in to help. They helped the boat owner load drinking water onto a pickup to take back to the village then used a high-clearance vehicle to transport more supplies for other residents.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: Policemen from Khu Khot station helping motorists in a badly flooded stretch of Phaholyothin road.
First insert: Deputy Prime Minister Songsak Thongsri next to an image of Chao Phraya dam.
Second insert: Two thieves paddling away with a stolen boat. All photos – Amarin TV
Floods:
Bangkok and 10 provinces told to brace for increased water discharge from Chao Phraya dam
Sai Mai residents worried northern runoff will worsen their plight
Thai Airways cuts flights, battles baggage chaos as Bangkok floods ease
Huge spillway project proposed to fight critical floodings in the long run
Kasikorn Research Centre sets flood-induced economic damage at 7–17 billion baht
Floodwaters jet-skier gets suspended jail term
Cabinet declares tomorrow and day after special holidays for Bangkok, 3 provinces
Bangkok flooding ‘has stabilised’, improvement likely this evening: Chadchart
Bangkok in critical situation amid non-stop rain with many areas flooded
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