Submerged to save Bangkok: rural Thais bear brunt of capital’s flood defences

Stilt houses in villages north of Bangkok are no longer high enough to stay dry as Thai authorities deliberately flood riverside communities to spare the capital.

Inside the home of Kamonchanok Sathaphonamonwut, raised more than three metres (10 feet) above the ground in Ayutthaya province, her family of three sleeps on makeshift platforms and cannot use the waterlogged toilet.

Her village has been flooded six years in a row, pushing some to move away, while others have raised their houses higher.

“Our area simply cannot cope with this much water any more,” said the 34-year-old, wading through her soaked home.

But while authorities prioritise protecting Bangkok and other business hubs from floods, “when it comes to our residential communities, they neglect us”, she said.

Thailand experiences flooding every year during the monsoon season and scientists say human-made climate change has made heavy rain and floods more frequent and severe.

After devastating floods in 2011, the government expanded embankments, water gates and other infrastructure to direct water away from Bangkok, the historic city of Ayutthaya and industrial zones along the Chao Phraya River, which flows through the capital.

The defences have largely kept commercial centres safe, but residents of other areas have been left to fend for themselves.

Around 20km (12 miles) from Ayutthaya’s centuries-old temple ruins, a Unesco heritage site, residents say floods that once reached their knees now rise above their heads in some areas and can take several months to recede.

Office worker Kamonchanok has been forced to commute by boat and hoist her household appliances and other belongings above the waterline.

“All we can do is deal with the consequences,” she said. “There’s only so much we can do to adapt.”

Thai irrigation department spokesman Thanet Somboon said climate change, low-lying geography and recently built embankments that altered the natural flow of the Chao Phraya had contributed to more severe flooding of downstream communities.

“Even when water is released from the Chao Phraya Dam at the same rate as before, the impact is greater than it used to be,” Thanet said.

And after irrigation channels were completely full of diverted water, he said authorities had “no choice but to discharge the remaining water downstream”.

But Thanet acknowledged that officials may need to review infrastructure to “ensure floodwater can be kept within the intended limits”.

Environmental conservationist Sasin Chalermlarp said the government had done “an excellent job” managing floods across the central plains, but added that its efforts were “cruel” to those bearing the brunt of the flooding.

In low-lying riverside districts that serve as flood retention zones, whole stretches of villages could be seen underwater this month, with some homes abandoned and others submerged up to their roofs.

Sasin said floodwater that once spread across much of Ayutthaya was now concentrated in just “5 to 10 per cent” of the province.

As flooding in hard-hit districts has become more severe, many who remain have paid to lift their stilt houses higher and keep their living space dry.

Kamonchanok’s family raised their home twice in the 1990s, the second time by 1.5 metres.

But floodwaters reached their house in 2011 and again for the past six consecutive years.

Raising a house can cost between 100,000 and 1 million baht (US$3,000 to US$30,000), depending on its size and height, residents say.

Some families have lifted their homes twice in just a few years, exhausting their savings and borrowing just to get by.

Despite spending more than 1 million baht raising her home, Sawong Raksri, 87, is unfazed.

“It floods like this every year recently. What’s the point of complaining?” she said.

Sasin acknowledged that the area’s low-lying land made it a natural route for floodwaters.

“But the villagers have no choice. They are being forced to make sacrifices,” he said.

Sasin, who lives in a protected part of Ayutthaya, has proposed a “flood-free tax” on those who benefit from the defences, to help affected families raise their homes and repair damage.

Thanet from the irrigation department said the idea warranted further study to determine “how to support people who sacrifice their land to accommodate floodwater”.

The government’s flagship fix is a US$780-million flood diversion canal, designed to carry 1,200 cubic metres of water – around half the volume of an Olympic-size swimming pool – per second around the bottleneck where the Chao Phraya narrows through Ayutthaya. It is expected to be completed by 2030.

Until then, Kamonchanok said her community was not even demanding an end to intentional flooding, but rather a cap on water levels and financial support for those whose homes sit below the flood line.

“All we’re asking for is to be able to live comfortably in our own homes,” she said. “Why can’t they give us that?”