Weather back to normal on Oct 10 after Gaemi is downgraded

Weather back to normal on Oct 10 after Gaemi is downgraded

The weather in Thailand is expected to return to normal on Wednesday after Gaemi weakened to a low pressure cell, the Meteorological Department deputy director-general said on Monday.

Somchai Baimuang said Gaemi is moving in a westerly direction toward Nakhon Pathom, Kanchanaburi and finally the Andaman Sea without moving into the Gulf of Thailand.

There will definitely not be a storm surge as feared. Rain will fall over a wide area on Monday but the overall weather is expected to return to normal on Oct 10, Mr Somchai added.

He said the storm Phra Phiroon, which is forming in the area east of the Philippines, would not affect Thailand. However, fishing boats are advised to proceed with caution and small boats should remain ashore because there will be high waves.

Rain falls lightly on Rama IV Road on the morning of Oct 8, 2012. (Photo by Kosol Nakachol)

According to the Meteorological Department's three-month (Oct-Dec) weather forecast, there will be scattered thunderstorms in the upper part of the country and scattered rain, heavy to very heavy, in some areas in the Central and the East in October. In the second half of the month a high pressure or cool spell from China will spread to cover the North and the Northeast. The weather in the two regions will be cool in the morning.

In November, the cool spell from China will increase in strength to cover the northern part of the country. This will be followed by scattered rainstorms and gusty winds in some areas. The temperature in the North and Northeast will drop. The Central and the East will also experience cool weather in the morning.

In December, the overall temperature will drop. The cold spell will cover the northern part of the country. The North and the Northeast will be cold, particularly on mountain tops. The weather in the Central and the East will be cool.

Rain will continue to fall in the South throughout the three months.

Meanwhile, Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Surasawadi said he would set up a committee to investigate the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) for stuffing sandbags into the drainage system on Srinakarin Road in defiance of instructions from the Water and Flood Management Commission (WFMC).

Mr Plodprasop, as WFMC chairman, said he had three questions for the BMA to answer:

1. What kind of water management is stuffing sandbags in drains? 

2. Who ordered BMA workers to put sandbags in the drains, and why this was done while storms were on the way? 

3. Where else has the BMA stuffed sandbags in drains?

Mr Plodprasop said he would order the sandbags removed because putting them in the drainage system went against an agreement that the BMA would help the WFMC in draining water out of the city. The sandbags, instead, blocked the waterflow, he said.

He said the BMA would be ordered to removed all of the sandbags and he would set up a committee to investigate City Hall for disobeying the WFMC's order.

Mr Plodprasop added that the BMA's explanation that it was part of its flood prevention measures was not credible and he wondered if it was a deliberate ploy to upset the WFMC.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra insisted it was part of preparations to cope with flooding.

MR Sukhumbhand said dredging canals and waterways is not the only aspect of water management. Proper use of watergates and water pumping stations, as well as use of sandbags, are the other measures. Those stuffed in the drains on Srinakarin Road did not affect the drainage capacity in that area.

The governor insisted that the sandbags belong to the BMA. Whoever wanted to remove them must first coordinate with the BMA, he said.

A BMA employee shows a sandbag in a sewer on Srinakarin Road which the BMA goveror said are part of a flood management strategy to contain flooding on the road. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)

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