The Royal Irrigation Department is considering a number of measures to prepare for floods during the rainy season, as the weather conditions look set to become much wetter when the La Niña phenomenon begins in a few months.
At an online meeting at the RID's Smart Water Operation Centre on Monday, RID director-general Chuchart Rakjit said 17 royal irrigation offices across the country had been ordered to proactively prepare for the start of La Niña, which forecasters say will bring heavier-than-usual downpours across the country between July and October.
The meeting was also attended by RID deputy director Dej Lekwichai and director-general of the Meteorological Department, Kanrawee Sitthichawapak.
According to Ms Kanrawee, the arrival of La Nina is expected to cause rain volume to increase by at least 20%. The Central Plains region is expected to see the highest increase at 39%, followed by the Northeast (22%) and the South (16%).
As a result, wide swaths of the country are expected to start experiencing heavy downpours between June and July, with the frequency forecast to pick up further from August to October as a result of two monsoon winds during the period.
To prevent the downpours from causing widespread flooding, Mr Chuchart said he had ordered all agencies to start preparing.
However, he said the department is confident this year's La Nina won't result in a "megaflood" similar to the one in 2011 -- when 65 out of the nation's 77 provinces were ravaged by floods -- because the department is now equipped with better technology to manage the nation's water resources in the rainy season.
He also added that the RID has already renovated all pumping stations located along the Chao Phraya River to help push water to the Gulf of Thailand.
The department has also prepared "monkey cheek" water-catchment areas along the river's course -- one in Thung Baang Rakam in Phitsanulok and the others spread across ten lowlands in Thung Chao Phraya.
Both are expected to be able to hold 1.5 billion cubic metres of water, higher than the capacity of Pasak Jolasid Dam in Lop Buri, which is able to hold about 960 million m3 of water, he said.
Chuchart: Calls for preparations
