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[OldGringo]

Does anyone know if anything is being planned or being done to prepare for possible floods this year?
I live near Nong Hoi by the Sanahm Golf and Wat Muang Guy.
Over the years there have been a number of serious floods as a result of the Ping River overflowing it's banks.
Nothing except some ineffectual sandbagging along the riverbank has been done in the past.
I would think a concrete floodwall about two meters high from around where Rim Ping Supermarket is to below the heavily populated area of Nong Hoi would be a great help and possibily solve the problem entirely in that locality.
At present, drains are being excavated on Ratutit, Soi 6 and one on our little Soi near the end of the Sanahm Golf.
How effective they will be remains to be seen.
If the whole area is innundated as it has often been in the past, these new drains won't do any good at all.
Also, would dredging the river be of any help?
Thanks for any input on this. I'm sure it's a subject of interest to many people. Especially those who live in parts of the city affected by flooding.

[sfokevin]

I saw a few people burning incents near Navarat Bridge the other day...

[DeaconJohn]

sfokevin, on 2012-02-01 10:18:19, said:

I saw a few people burning incents near Navarat Bridge the other day...

Do you mean  "Innocents" or "Incense"?
Please clarify.
It's of vital importance

[Sparkles]

Old Gringo .I'm sure a lot of people share your concerns but don't get your hopes up that any constructive anti flood measures will be implemented before the next flood. Seems its been that way for a long time. Hopefully some one like Pim at City Life magazine can get some feed back from those holding the purse strings. Dredging would help but that needs to be an ongoing project as run off soon deposits dirt,sand etc  back to the river bed during run off.Thais are unfortuantly not big on regular maintenance of anything.

[Greenside]

That's not entirely fair.  There has been a lot of work south of the bridge that carries Mahidol Road over the river but most, if not all, seems to have not been on the Nong Hoi side.

[Paagai]

"I would think a concrete floodwall about two meters high....."

[sfokevin]

DeaconJohn, on 2012-02-01 11:41:33, said:

sfokevin, on 2012-02-01 10:18:19, said:

I saw a few people burning incents near Navarat Bridge the other day...

Do you mean  "Innocents" or "Incense"?
Please clarify.
It's of vital importance

Incense... Doubt any Innocents are available...

[DeaconJohn]

sfokevin, on 2012-02-01 15:53:20, said:

DeaconJohn, on 2012-02-01 11:41:33, said:

sfokevin, on 2012-02-01 10:18:19, said:

I saw a few people burning incents near Navarat Bridge the other day...

Do you mean  "Innocents" or "Incense"?
Please clarify.
It's of vital importance

Incense... Doubt any Innocents are available...

Where every prospect pleases and only Man is vile...
No Brother, don't lose hope.

[JingerBen]

Greenside, on 2012-02-01 14:23:05, said:

That's not entirely fair.  There has been a lot of work south of the bridge that carries Mahidol Road over the river but most, if not all, seems to have not been on the Nong Hoi side.

Yes, that's where the 5 star Holiday Inn is located.
Just a coincidence no doubt.

[ludditeman]

I've always found the best solution to flooding, is to not live on a flood plain.
Just rent somewhere in a higher area.

Edited by ludditeman, 2012-02-01 16:38:28.

[CMHomeboy78]

Anything done to prevent floods in Chiang Mai will have to be initiated by the people of Chiang Mai.
It is not in the interest of anybody in Bangkok to help with that.
The more water that floods and disperses elsewhere, the less that is channeled down to them.
Waiting and hoping for the central goverment to do something is probably the reason why nothing effective has ever been done.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Heh, I have made a bet on flooding along the Ping river being brought under control in the coming years for the in-town area.

Note that severe flooding of the type we had last season doesn't happen too often, perhaps once every 5 years.  Still, the disruption is significant enough to put in some significant work. I hope.

Edited by WinnieTheKhwai, 2012-02-01 17:16:22.

[MESmith]

WinnieTheKhwai, on 2012-02-01 17:15:35, said:

Heh, I have made a bet on flooding along the Ping river being brought under control in the coming years for the in-town area.

Note that severe flooding of the type we had last season doesn't happen too often, perhaps once every 5 years.  Still, the disruption is significant enough to put in some significant work. I hope.

Once every 5 years seems pretty frequent to me ;-)

Btw, betting is illegal ;-)

[hellodolly]

JingerBen, on 2012-02-01 16:37:04, said:

Greenside, on 2012-02-01 14:23:05, said:

That's not entirely fair.  There has been a lot of work south of the bridge that carries Mahidol Road over the river but most, if not all, seems to have not been on the Nong Hoi side.

Yes, that's where the 5 star Holiday Inn is located.
Just a coincidence no doubt.

Also a hospital that sits much lower to the river than the Holiday Inn.
Don't know where you come from but it makes sense to protect a hospital.

Also maybe just maybe they have learned their lesson and won't release the dams until the rain gets real bad.
One can always hope.

[MESmith]

hellodolly, on 2012-02-01 18:50:22, said:

Also maybe just maybe they have learned their lesson and won't release the dams until the rain gets real bad.
One can always hope.

They should be releasing water NOW, for irrigation, for the farmers.

[hellodolly]

MESmith, on 2012-02-01 18:58:22, said:

hellodolly, on 2012-02-01 18:50:22, said:

Also maybe just maybe they have learned their lesson and won't release the dams until the rain gets real bad.
One can always hope.

They should be releasing water NOW, for irrigation, for the farmers.

I don't think they have got that far with it. LOL

[WinnieTheKhwai]

MESmith, on 2012-02-01 18:37:42, said:

WinnieTheKhwai, on 2012-02-01 17:15:35, said:

Heh, I have made a bet on flooding along the Ping river being brought under control in the coming years for the in-town area.

Note that severe flooding of the type we had last season doesn't happen too often, perhaps once every 5 years.  Still, the disruption is significant enough to put in some significant work. I hope.

Once every 5 years seems pretty frequent to me ;-)

Btw, betting is illegal ;-)

Not the kind of bet that is an investment choice.

[stuartd1]

Has there been any update to the flood area map issued on this site last year, or can it still be trusted?
I'm currently looking for a house and would naturally like to avoid any high risk locations.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

The map proved to be useless.  You need to talk with people who live near the property you are looking at, especially if it's a bit out of town.

If very close to town then it's more obvious which areas to avoid.  (Pa Daed, off Wiang Ping road, Chang Klan, Chiang Mai Land, etc.)

[sfokevin]

stuartd1, on 2012-02-02 08:33:15, said:

Has there been any update to the flood area map issued on this site last year, or can it still be trusted?
I'm currently looking for a house and would naturally like to avoid any high risk locations.

Keep an eye out for water rings on the outside of houses & perimeter walls

Edited by sfokevin, 2012-02-02 12:37:57.

[scorecard]

True, action is needed and cleaning drains etc., will  surelyhelp a little.

You mention a 2 metre high wall along part of the river. But if built it proabbly has downside also, becacuse it likely means that the areas before the 2 metre wall would be negatively effected also.

Clearly needs a major plan.

[folium]

Can anyone point me towards a post fairly recently that had a series of graphs showing how the rainfall by month in 2011 was far higher than average.
Thanks

[WinnieTheKhwai]

folium, on 2012-02-02 13:19:23, said:

Can anyone point me towards a post fairly recently that had a series of graphs showing how the rainfall by month in 2011 was far higher than average.

Numbers:





Though probably just as significant is where exactly the rain falls, and how much falls at a short, specific crunch-time when water levels are already high.  For example the rainfall since January 2011 is VERY much higher than before, though a lot of that happened during months where it doesn't really matter that much.

See: http://asiapacific.a...-revealed-rain/

Edited by WinnieTheKhwai, 2012-02-02 13:43:15.

[jonwilly]

The Wier is the problem.

john

[folium]

WinnieTheKhwai, on 2012-02-02 13:37:15, said:

folium, on 2012-02-02 13:19:23, said:

Can anyone point me towards a post fairly recently that had a series of graphs showing how the rainfall by month in 2011 was far higher than average.

Numbers:





Though probably just as significant is where exactly the rain falls, and how much falls at a short, specific crunch-time when water levels are already high.  For example the rainfall since January 2011 is VERY much higher than before, though a lot of that happened during months where it doesn't really matter that much.

See: http://asiapacific.a...-revealed-rain/

Thank you for the speedy response. Just what I was looking for.

Nice to see that TV can be more than just tedious squabbling!