Bangkok on alert as flood threat grows along Chao Phraya
published : 30 May 2025 at 12:36
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Supoj Wancharoen

Bangkok is on heightened alert for potential flooding as high sea levels threaten low-lying areas along the Chao Phraya River through to Sunday.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is coordinating with other agencies to monitor the situation closely and issue warnings when necessary, the Drainage and Sewerage Department said.
The high tides have prompted daily inspections of flood barriers and drainage infrastructure in the river and the connected canals, namely Khlong Bangkok Noi, Khlong Mahasawt and Khlong Phrakhanong.
Bangkok's permanent floodwalls range from 2.8 to 3.5 metres above mean sea level, but 32 sections, known as "gapped barriers", remain incomplete.
These total 4.35 kilometres and are being temporarily reinforced with sandbags to mitigate flood risks, the department said.
So far, 21 permanent barrier sections totalling 2.58km have been completed in key locations, such as Si Phraya Pier in Bang Rak and Riverside Condo in Bang Kho Laem.
Four additional segments, including areas in Yannawa, Khlong Toei, and Bang Phlat, are under construction and are expected to be finished before the October flood season.
Vocabulary
- agency (noun): a government department that provides a particular service - หน่วยงานราชการ
- barrier: a wall, pile of sandbags, etc., that prevents water from entering - สิ่งกีดขวาง
- drainage: the process of taking away of water or other liquids from an area - การระบายน้ำ
- infrastructure: a set of systems within a place or organisation that affect how well it operates, e.g., the telephone and transport systems in a country or the system of train tracks that a railway uses - สาธารณูปโภค
- mean: an amount that is calculated by adding several numbers together and dividing the total by the original number of things that you added together - ค่าเฉลี่ย, ตัวกลาง, มัชฌิม
- mitigate: to make something less harmful or serious - บรรเทา
- sewerage (noun): the system by which sewage (liquid waste) is carried away from houses, factories, etc. and is cleaned and made safe by adding chemicals to it - การระบายของเสียออกทางท่อระบาย