Waterlogged Thailand will struggle to prevent future floods

Robert Birsel in Reuters: As waterlogged Thailand struggles to contain the worst floods in decades, it faces a simple truth: not a whole lot can be done to avoid a repeat disaster in the short term even with a new multi-billion dollar water-management policy.

City dwellers and farmers displaced since the floods began in July, killing 427 people, and foreign investors waiting to pump out factories could face the same thing when the rainy season rolls around again in the middle of next year.

But there are short-term steps to reduce the risk, including better cooperation between agencies with over-lapping responsibilities and an improvement in the management of dams that feed water down into the central flood plain.

At times since the crisis began unfolding, rivalry between different arms of government exacerbated by divided political loyalties has appeared to derail efforts to stop the deadliest flooding in half a century. "A main weakness in the system is coordination and that can be improved if people set aside their egos. It has to be non-partisan," said Chaiyuth Sukhsri, head of faculty at the Water Resources Engineering Department at Chulalongkorn University...

An US helicopter assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 14, flies around the Bangkok area with members of the humanitarian assessment survey team and the Royal Thai Armed Forces to assess the damage caused by flooding. Shot by Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Villalovos