Waking up Saturday, I had hoped it would be the usual routine of getting changed at my condo and heading back to my house for breakfast with the family. Expecting it to be the usual 10-15-minute drive it takes on weekends to reach home, I set out on a journey that would take more than an hour because many parts of the road leading up to my house were inundated from the heavy downpour overnight.
Once home, I went on social media only to find that my ordeal had been less harrowing than those of most of my friends, who either had their cars break down or drove off to higher ground to avoid the high water levels.
A friend heading to work as a doctor at one of Bangkok's big hospitals could not drive through the water in Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, so he decided to park his car at a petrol station and take a public bus after wading through the water. The ordeals of others were available on social media either via live coverage or through pictures such as those of a condo parking lot in Ari being flooded up to the bonnets of cars.
Umesh Pandey is Editor, Bangkok Post.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's drainage department said the rainfall that started just before midnight on Friday and lasted until Saturday morning was far higher than the city's drainage capacity of 60mm. In Phra Nakhon district where the Grand Palace is situated, 214mm of rain was recorded, while Phasi Charoen district had an identical amount. Other districts such as Bangkok Noi (208mm), Yannawa (195mm) and Din Daeng (174mm) were hit hard.
A downpour as heavy as had been seen in years prompted many on social media to start calling the city "Bangkok Ocean Park", but this rainfall has raised many questions about the failure of the capital's drainage systems.
Bangkok has previously placed all the blame on the garbage that people throw in the drainage systems and canals, clogging up the drains and stalling drainage, but this weekend's rainfall has raised more questions than it has answered.
How come areas such as Ari, where land and condo prices have been on a never-ending upward trend, can have such poor drainage to make the area flood high enough to reach the bonnets of cars in a parking lot?
Why did areas that are supposed to have giant tunnels that help drain water faster, such as Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Don Muang and Rama IX Road, have some of the heaviest flooding?
Similar flash flooding was seen just over a year ago when netizens were mocking the newly announced government purchase of submarines from China as something that could be used on roads in the city. A year earlier, then Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra told people who complained about floods to go and live in the mountains.
Flooding from unexpected torrential rain is starting to become a norm that city dwellers need to learn to live with. But as we adapt and adjust ourselves to the new norm, it is highly recommended that the authorities take a harder look at what options they have that can help alleviate these annual events.
With climate change happening and each year's rainfall being worse than the previous year's, one can only hope that the government and the BMA start to take a deeper look at ways of tackling this issue in a longer-term way rather than just trying to cover up by blaming everything on the garbage and other issues.
Tackling garbage has been something that many administrations have tried. About three decades ago, there was a very successful campaign called "Magic Eyes" that created awareness among people of keeping the klongs (canals) clear of garbage, but today that campaign is something of a distant memory.
The government, on the other hand, needs to also realise that investment in creating better drainage is paramount to the long-term sustainability of Bangkok. It would also please city residents who were among the biggest supporters of the military government. Allocating more funds to better infrastructure while pushing back a few arms procurements amid a tighter budget would go a long way to show that this government cares for the people.
Meanwhile, the BMA should look at reviving greater awareness among the masses about their civic duty to avoid clogging drainage systems and klongs with their waste so as to let the already outdated infrastructure operate more efficiently.
