Stop lame city flood excuses

Stop lame city flood excuses

Saturday's inundation that hit large parts of Bangkok attests to the fact that the city administration, despite its voluminous budget and manpower, lacks the capability to cope with floods.

While Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang insisted Friday night's downpours were extraordinary, the fact is the capital, under his administration that began on Oct 18 last year, has been hit with inundation far too often.

It's not unusual for some streets to be submerged after a few hours of rain. But the scale of Saturday flood was very large and the hard-hit spots happened to be central business district areas such as Sukhumvit and Thong Lor, which normally enjoy the privilege of staying dry given their importance to the economy. The affected areas numbered over 55.

Pol Gen Aswin was named by the military regime to replace MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra who was abruptly ousted from office also by the regime, following a series of scandals in his administration. MR Sukhumbhand invited trouble when he lashed out offensively at Bangkok residents who lost patience with the clumsy way he dealt with floods. His foul mouth appeared to be the last straw.

Now similar sentiment has grown against Pol Gen Aswin, who has managed to escape so far by not offending angry residents further.

But what is similar between Pol Gen Aswin and previous governors is that he too uses the same old excuses -- drainage pipes are too small and massive amounts of garbage have clogged the pipes along with the waterways. It's as if the city cannot learn anything.

Worse, there are signs that the city is poorly prepared for flooding.

A TV news report indicated water pumps at Makkasan station were broken that unfortunate night when rains lashed the capital city. It might have been a coincidence, but it speaks volumes about poor preparation. It also raises a huge question about the efficiency of the city's "giant tunnels" that cost several billion baht.

Besides, it is even more frustrating to learn from the media that Pol Gen Aswin has ordered city officials to check the condition of 6,000-km of pipes to see which parts need to be fixed or upgraded.

That is sheer absurdity. Such a job should have been done before the rainy season, or even before this particular month -- when Bangkok typically braces against northern tides and high sea levels. A storm would simply worsen the situation, as evidenced over the weekend.

And as the royal ceremonies draw near, the government has mobilised all the help it can muster for the clumsy city administration in a bid to keep the city dry.

The navy, for instance, has sent in water pushing boats to accelerate drainage while the Irrigation department has promised to minimise the deluge.

In fact, several state agencies over the previous weeks tried to dismiss public fears of major floods. They even assured the country it would not face an incident similar to the 2011 Big Flood that caused damage worth over 1.4 trillion baht, or 13% of GDP. But now it seems they are not so confident. That frustrates the public further.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who has so far stood by his choice of governor, admitted it is necessary for some dams to release water to avoid the 2011 flood scenario. He also said Bangkok, in particular, lies on low-lying alluvial plains, making it difficult to combat floods.

Gen Prayut is right in pointing out that Bangkok and the rest of the country need a long-term water management plan, not a knee-jerk reaction as shown by Pol Gen Aswin and his administration on Oct 14.

More importantly, a comprehensive long-term plan is necessary given that Bangkok is very vulnerable to climate change and may be entirely under water in a matter of decades.

For this reason, Pol Gen Aswin and his administration need to realise it's time they revamp the way they handle floods and fix inefficiency. Lame excuses can no longer be accepted. They should know the public deserves better.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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