Revamp flood plans

Flooding in Chiang Mai province finally receded this week, and people are returning to some sense of normalcy. Yet, the latest flood woes have residents concerned about how the local government can manage floods in the future.
The latest flood is considered the worst in the last 50 years. It is the first time that the flood level in Ping River’s inner area has overflowed onto roads and into economic areas.
More perplexing for many residents is the amount of rain precipitation and flood level measured in the Ping River, and confluences were not higher than those from previous inundations.
There were no major storms or heavy rains. The flood velocity in the Ping River measured by telemeter at Naowarat Bridge was 700 cubic metres per second — similar to previous flooding episodes, according to Bunnaroth Buaklee, leader of Chiang Mai Breach Council, an active local civic group.
However, the outcome is far more severe.
This month, the flood severely damaged the major economic zone within 40 square km of Chiang Mai Municipality, which is usually well protected from floods.
Residents of Chiang Mai are familiar with floods. The local government and the Royal Irrigation Department have previously tackled floods by directing flood water into canals and the Ping River.
But this time, flood management did not work properly.
Local residents criticised the Royal Irrigation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture — which focused on managing flood water in the Ping River and the network of irrigated canals — for reportedly not informing local people when flood gates were broken.
Meanwhile, the Chiang Mai Municipality focused on keeping the core economic zone dry and pumped water out to other districts.
What appears to be a silo culture among government bodies is not the only problem.
The changed environment and unchecked land use in Chiang Mai are also to blame.
Despite the rain not being unusually high this month, cleared mountain environments meant that such areas could not absorb water as they once did, and runoff water impacted villages.
Road construction has also obstructed flood draining.
The question is — what should the government do?
Local civic groups have urged the government to ban mass cultivation, such as maize farms, in some mountain areas.
The government must also provide subsidies to forest dwellers and encourage them to protect forests. Without rich forests and proper land use on highlands, the floods in the North will not be adequately solved.
The government also needs to remove and correct some infrastructure, such as flood gates and roads, that block flood drainage. Many concrete floodgates have blocked and impeded flood drainage in the Ping River. Scenes of broken floodwalls and floodgates also suggest that concrete structures cannot cope with severe weather and stronger storms. The central and local governments must examine these structures and make corrections to improve flood drainage.
The latest flooding in the northern region also revealed that the weather and rain patterns have changed to a level that the Thai Meteorological Department cannot adequately predict where it will fall.
All of this should be enough for the government to consider revising its flood management plans.