Bangkok prepares for heavy rain in August, arranges officers to monitor 24 hours a day.

Bangkok, The Bangkok governor is satisfied with the rapid drainage of water in risk areas, preparing for heavy rain in August by arranging officers to monitor the situation 24 hours a day, along with AI to provide accurate weather forecasts. Mr. Chadchart Sittipunt, Governor of Bangkok, revealed the preparation for the flood situation in August before attending the meeting of the Bangkok executives at the Rattanakosin Room, Bangkok City Hall (Giant Swing), Phra Nakhon District on August 5, 2024, that the BMA has been analyzing the flood problem all along, both at the main artery and capillary level. The main artery of the BMA is the giant tunnel and the main tunnel system for water drainage, including various water gate systems. As for the capillaries, they are dredging canals and drains, which have been carried out by more than 90% according to the target. In addition, there has been an analysis of over 577 flood risk points by learning lessons from the flood problem last year, which the BMA has already so lved the problem in the main points by more than 50%, but sometimes the drainage may take a little time, which is believed that the overall situation should improve. In the past, there was rain in the Bang Na area, with a rainfall of more than 70 millimeters, but the BMA was able to drain the water quickly. Only one intersection was affected, which was the intersection of Srinakarin Road and Bang Na-Trat Road. And before that, the night before, there was heavy rain on the Thonburi side, causing Phetkasem Road to be flooded, but the water was still able to drain within half an hour because the BMA has a flood prevention system control center in Bangkok, which monitors, analyzes, and is ready to solve problems, including having officers ready to go to the area to solve problems 24 hours a day. The concern is the occurrence of heavy rain in specific areas or the Rain Bomb phenomenon that may affect vulnerable areas in Bangkok. Therefore, the BMA must increase the forecast to be more accurate in which areas hea vy rain is going to fall in order to prepare resources in advance to support the situation, such as mobile water pumps, equipment, and local officials. At present, the concern is Khlong Prem Prachakon, which is the main canal that will receive water from many smaller canals in the Bangkok area. However, the current problem is that the dam construction is not yet complete and there are houses encroaching on the canal. This problem is in the Don Mueang area and Soi Chang Akut Uthit, which has urged relevant agencies to urgently fix. Another canal of concern is Khlong Prawet Burirom in Lat Krabang, which is still a weak point. Action has been taken to quickly drain water into Khlong Bang Sue by installing additional water pumps and urgently dredging canals in related areas. In terms of using AI to help solve flooding problems, Bangkok is using it more to collect data to make the data more detailed, including using it to analyze data for rain forecasting. As for measuring water levels, AI has not been involved t o that extent. However, citizens can inquire, request assistance, or report flooding problems at the Bangkok Flood Prevention System Control Center, tel. 0 2248 5115 (24 hours a day), the Bangkok Hotline Complaint Center, tel. 1555, or Traffy Fondue. Source: Thai News Agency