A City Hall worker collects rubbish near the Royal Plaza, which was briefly flooded due to torrential rain that hit several areas of Bangkok. THITI WANNAMONTHA
Floods have many causes, but in theshort termit is usually rain that sets them off – heavy rain.
InThailand, this usually occurs during the southwestmonsoonseason which runsroughlyfrom May through November. Storms often begin far away in the neighbourhood of thePhilippineswhich is all too often thevictimoftyphoons. These storms can move towardsVietnam,Laosand Cambodian and by the time they reach land, they are usuallydowngradedtotropical storms.
By the time they reachThailand, they are usuallydowngradedanotherlevelto atropical depression, but thislow pressuresystem is still enough totriggertorrentialrain andpersistentdownpoursovervastareas of the country’s North, Northeast and Central regions. The South, too, gets its share of heavy rain and wind andsuffersflooding anddestructivewaveson a regular basis.
Incessant,sustainedrainsaturatesthe ground, making it unable toabsorbany more. The resultantrun-offfrom the rain-soakedlandswellsstreams and rivers.Currentsquicken intoraging torrentsandconditionsare set for a majoremergencyas floodwater begins tooverflownatural and man-made flooddefences.