Five hours of heavy rain in Bangkok, Thailand reached 7 inches on June 8th, 2015. That's a lot of rain for a city with a prevalence of impervious surfaces and an inadequate sewer system.
I know Bangkok very well as I lived there for 15 years. I've driven through flood waters hoping my car could make it through the waters. I've sweated it out until 11 pm waiting for my kids to make it home from school in the flood waters. I've gasped at seeing a photo of my son standing in flood waters up to his neck.
Bangkok may not be the best example for flooding in cities as the ratio of paved surfaces to unpaved is higher than in many other cities, however; it is a good case study for what's to come for many cities across the world.
City planning in Bangkok was not carried out with cooperation between various departments or with a view of the city as a whole. And it shows.
In pursuing my MSc is Sustainability Management at Columbia University, I submitted a research paper on Bangkok that included a review of the city's transportation woes—a major contributor to flooding during heavy rains. I found that many canals in the city had been paved over to make way for roadways for more cars. I also found that the current number of roads in the city could handle 1.2 million vehicles while the number of registered vehicles in the city was 7. 8 million. It is obvious that there is a huge problem in Bangkok, yet city planners and government agencies don't seen to be able to tackle the problem effectively.
There is no simple solution to problems in a city like Bangkok. Poor planning is just one of the many woes. In addition to the recent rains plaguing the city, the rains of 2011 also made the news worldwide. The city was inundated with what was called the "worst flooding in decades." Read more here: http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/10/worst-flooding-in-decades-swamps-thailand/100168/
Unfortunately, more heavy rain and flooding can be expected for the city. Efforts to address issues that contribute to the flooding are not going to be easy to solve. In the meantime, more flooding like that in June can be expected.
Photos of the flooding that ensued after the heavy rain in Bangkok on June 8th:
I know Bangkok very well as I lived there for 15 years. I've driven through flood waters hoping my car could make it through the waters. I've sweated it out until 11 pm waiting for my kids to make it home from school in the flood waters. I've gasped at seeing a photo of my son standing in flood waters up to his neck.
Bangkok may not be the best example for flooding in cities as the ratio of paved surfaces to unpaved is higher than in many other cities, however; it is a good case study for what's to come for many cities across the world.
City planning in Bangkok was not carried out with cooperation between various departments or with a view of the city as a whole. And it shows.
In pursuing my MSc is Sustainability Management at Columbia University, I submitted a research paper on Bangkok that included a review of the city's transportation woes—a major contributor to flooding during heavy rains. I found that many canals in the city had been paved over to make way for roadways for more cars. I also found that the current number of roads in the city could handle 1.2 million vehicles while the number of registered vehicles in the city was 7. 8 million. It is obvious that there is a huge problem in Bangkok, yet city planners and government agencies don't seen to be able to tackle the problem effectively.
There is no simple solution to problems in a city like Bangkok. Poor planning is just one of the many woes. In addition to the recent rains plaguing the city, the rains of 2011 also made the news worldwide. The city was inundated with what was called the "worst flooding in decades." Read more here: http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/10/worst-flooding-in-decades-swamps-thailand/100168/
Unfortunately, more heavy rain and flooding can be expected for the city. Efforts to address issues that contribute to the flooding are not going to be easy to solve. In the meantime, more flooding like that in June can be expected.
Photos of the flooding that ensued after the heavy rain in Bangkok on June 8th:
 |
| Image via @NotThatBobJames on Twitter |
 |
| Image via @NotThatBobJames on Twitter |
No comments:
Post a Comment