Bangkok Lawmaker Questions Delay in Opening Floodgates

Sai Mai, the second most populous district in Bangkok, is enduring a fourth consecutive day of flooding while most other areas of the city have seen water levels recede. The district has become a low point by geography: water from every zone drains toward its canals before flowing toward Rangsit, making it naturally the last to flood and the last to drain. Residents report that water levels have not budged, and many neighborhoods are developing foul-smelling stagnant water. Although the district chief and local representatives are doing what they can to help, relief is insufficient given the scale of the disaster, and state agencies have yet to provide substantial assistance.

Lawyer-politician Sashinan Thamnitinand recently visited the closed Khlong Song sluice gate to question why it cannot be opened. The gate manager, Wirayuth, explained that administrators want to dry the outer ring road first so residents can commute and work. He noted that outside water levels have dropped just 3 centimeters (from 2.03 meters to 2.00 meters), while inside levels have dropped 10 centimeters (from 1.60 meters to 1.50 meters). Wirayuth said the situation resembles the 2011 floods, when "Sai Mai flooded while everyone else dried out. We were the last to drain."

Wirayuth assured residents that damage will not match 2011 levels and flooding may not persist for months if upstream water does not continue flowing in—though he could not confirm that at present. Sashinan stressed that Sai Mai is geographically the final drainage point for all of Bangkok before water reaches Rangsit, so relief will take time. However, he noted a positive sign: water levels have already dropped 10 centimeters, suggesting gradual improvement may follow.