Heavy rains collapse part of Chiang Mai’s ancient city wall

With continued heavy rainfall, part of the ancient city wall of Chiang Mai collapsed. A section of the wall near the Chang Phuak Gate partially crumbled in last night’s storm. The ancient wall stood in Chiang Mai for about 750 years before collapsing in the rain.

The Chiang Mai municipality was joined by authorities from the Fine Arts Department who hurried to examine the damage to the wall. They will assess the repair work needed and make plans to renovate the ancient brickwork to repair the wall.

The ancient wall is believed to have been constructed during the Lanna kingdom, at some point during the reign of King Mengrai. He ruled over ancient Thailand between the years of AD 1261 and AD 1292. After standing as a border to Chiang Mai’s old city for centuries, the torrential downpours of the recent storms proved to be too much for the weather tomorrow.

Massive amounts of water have been dumped from the skies in Chiang Mai in the surrounding region with low-lying areas flooding. The Water Resource Department’s regional office announce substantial rainfall measurements in the past 24 hours.

Chiang Mai recorded 84 millimetres of fresh rainwater dumped down on the province over the last 24 hours. The Samoeng district was one of the hardest-hit areas in Chiang Mai province with 106.9 millimetres since yesterday. The Meteorological Department said that in nearby Tak province, some districts are nearly as much rain also. The Sam Ngao district there recorded 102.9 millimetres of water in the pounding storms.

No timeline has been announced for repairs yet, nor have estimates on the cost of the damage done to the ancient wall.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World

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