Thailand hit by worst monsoon flooding in half a century- 2.6 million affected

October 5, 2011 – THAILAND – Flooding in central and northern Thailand blamed on unusually heavy monsoon rains and poor management of the country’s large dams has left at least 237 people dead. Twenty-six of the 77 Thai provinces have been hit by floods this rainy season, affecting 2.6 million people. On Wednesday, 400 families were forced to evacuate Bang Phrahan district in Ayutthaya province, 90km north of Bangkok, as the Chao Phraya River overflowed its banks. Officials have been forced to release water from the two largest dams, Bhumibol and Sirikit, into the Ping and Nan rivers, which feed into the Chao Phraya. “The problem is water management,” said Smith Dharmasaroja, head of the Natural Disaster Warning Foundation. “We kept too much water in the dams early in the rainy season, and now at the end of the season, they have to release a large amount of water at the same time, which has caused floods.” Thailand’s rainy season usually starts in May and ends in October. Smith blamed the rains on a lengthy La Nina cycle, a weather phenomenon marked by heavy precipitation that typically follows an El Nino period of drought. “This La Nina started early and was supposed to end six months ago, but it’s continued up to now,” Smith said. “It’s quite unusual.” Northeastern Thailand can expect more rain this week from a low-pressure front left over from Typhoon Nalgae, National Disaster Prevention Centre Director Somsak Khaosuwai said on the department’s website. Nalgae hit the Philippines over the weekend and moved on to Vietnam Wednesday. –Herald Sun

The worst in 50 years: Flooding in Thailand during this year’s monsoon season has killed more than 200 people and affected at least two million more. Officials say the inundation across thousands of hectares of land is the most severe in decades and the United Nations is calling on governments in Asia to spend more on disaster risk reduction. Weather forecasters say Thailand’s monsoon rainy season this year has been the most severe in 50 years. While the country has a network of dams and canals to contain the heavy rainfall, officials from the Royal Irrigation Department warn that several major dams are near their breaking point, with more torrential rain forecast in the coming weeks. Bangkok has, so far, been spared the most severe of the floods. But the torrent of water has been heavy in the city’s Chao Phraya River.  –VOA

contribution Rainman