Heavy rain in and around Bangkok forecast until early next week

Bangkok and its peripherals are expected to be lashed by heavy rainfall until next week, due to a monsoon trough and the effects of an intensifying tropical depression, which is heading towards central Vietnam, Somkuan Tonjan, director of weather forecasting at the Meteorological Department.

He said that the rain today in Bangkok is not a wet microburst, referred to locally as a “rain bomb” (intense rainfall over a short period that is difficult to predict), as feared by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), as he cited the case of the flooding in Phuket which, he said, was caused by extreme rainfall, when the amount of rain falling in a day reaches 150mm.

Bangkok Permanent Secretary Wantanee Wattana said today that the city administration is well prepared to cope with heavy rainfall when forecast by the Weatherman, but is concerned about the possibility of a “rain bomb” in some areas, which lead to flooding.

She urged the capital’s residents to keep abreast of updates and warnings from the BMA and to refrain from discarding trash in the drains or canals, which may clog the drainage system.

Wantanee offered an assurance that Bangkok will not face a repeat of the devastating floods of 2011, adding that embankments along the Chao Phraya River have been strengthened.

According to the Royal Irrigation Department (RID), the flow of water through the Chao Phraya Dam in Chainat province has been reduced to 1,099m3/s and is steadily decreasing.

Nonetheless, she recommended that riverside communities keep a close watch on the water level during this weekend, when more rain is anticipated, adding that the RID will keep the public informed if or when it decides to release more water through the dam.