Dams

  • Thailand NewsMekong floods prompt calls to halt Pak Beng Dam project

    Mekong floods prompt calls to halt Pak Beng Dam project

    Floodwaters from the Mekong River have surged over its banks, affecting agricultural areas and prompting calls for the Thai government to review water management plans and delay the construction of the Pak Beng Dam. Yesterday, August 25, it was reported from the banks of the Mekong River in Chiang Khong district, Chiang Rai province, that water levels continue to rise…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesFlood prevention measures secure Phetchaburi for monsoon season

    Flood prevention measures secure Phetchaburi for monsoon season

    The province of Phetchaburi is preparing in advance this year for monsoon-induced flooding from September to October, with measures in place to minimise damage and inconvenience to locals. Key to these flood prevention efforts is the Kaeng Krachan and Mae Prachan dams, both currently low and ready to absorb the impending rainfall. Each year, Phetchaburi experiences flooding during the rainy…

  • World NewsIndian official drains dam searching for lost phone during selfie mishap

    Indian official drains dam searching for lost phone during selfie mishap

    Indian official suspended after draining millions of litres from a local reservoir to retrieve a dropped mobile phone while taking a selfie, causing controversy and disciplinary action for involved personnel. Rajesh Vishwas, a 32 year old food safety officer, accidentally dropped his Samsung S23 Ultra worth 39,900 baht (US$1,144) in a three-metre deep reservoir during a picnic with friends. Despite…

  • Thailand Weather Updates20 major dams and reservoirs in Thailand present overflow risk

    20 major dams and reservoirs in Thailand present overflow risk

    Thailand’s Office of the National Water Resources has requested that irrigation officials be ready to manage the discharge of excess water from 20 major dams and reservoirs. The heavy monsoon rains this year have led to potentially dangerous overflow conditions. Officials from the ONWR have instructed people living downstream to prepare for high levels of water being discharged from the dams,…

  • Environment NewsLaos – the ‘battery’ of Asia and a ticking environmental time bomb

    Laos – the ‘battery’ of Asia and a ticking environmental time bomb

    LAOS POWER FACTS: Number of power plants soon to be completed by the end of 2020: 53 hydropower plants under construction or in the planning stage, including those set to be completed this year; there will be more than 90 hydropower plants in Laos with a combined installed capacity of almost 14,000MW. Transmission lines that connect with neighbouring countries: 14 carry power to…

  • World NewsThai government threaten to boycott new Lao hydro electric dam project

    Thai government threaten to boycott new Lao hydro electric dam project

    Loas officials have announced the announcement of yet another Laos hydro electric dam and Thai authorities aren’t happy. The long list of Laos and Chinese dams along the Mekong River have hugely affected the life of communities downstream of the Mekong in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. And Laos. The Lao PDR has been described as South East Asia’s ‘battery’ and…

  • Thailand NewsThailand News Today | Deadly floods, Chiang Rai Covid cases, Mekong Forum | December 7

    Thailand News Today | Deadly floods, Chiang Rai Covid cases, Mekong Forum | December 7

    Southern Thailand flood death toll: 24 At least 24 people have now been reported to have died due to flash floods in Southern Thailand following a week of heavy rain. 19 of the victims were in Nakhon Si Thammarat which was hit the hardest. Today, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported 3 more deaths from flooding in the…

  • Covid-19 NewsChina re-affirms commitment to cooperate with Thailand over Covid vaccine

    China re-affirms commitment to cooperate with Thailand over Covid vaccine

    China is re-affirming its commitment to cooperate with Thailand over potential Covid-19 vaccines after its Chinese Ambassador to Thailand’s meeting with the Deputy PM Prawit today. Yang Xin furthered the partnership by offering China’s guidance and equipment support to facilitate testing, research and sourcing of an anti-Covid vaccine. Xin, the Chinese Charge d’Affaires, emphasised the importance of a good relationship…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesThis year’s wet season expected to be later, drier

    This year’s wet season expected to be later, drier

    Thailand’s annual rainy season usually arrives sometime around Songkran, the Thai New Year festival, on April 13 each year. But the Thai Meteorological Department is warning that the start of heavy rains are unlikely to start around the country until around the third week in May. They also forecast rainfall this year to be approximately 5% lower than average, adding…

  • Thai LifeThailand’s reservoirs and dams reaching critically low levels

    Thailand’s reservoirs and dams reaching critically low levels

    The start of the annual wet season isn’t far away, maybe this month, but Thailand’s water sources are running on empty. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported today, that Thailand has seen a large drop of useable water in dams and reservoirs by an average of 30% of their capacity, due to the lack of rain in the…

  • World NewsCambodia delays damming the Mekong for 10 years

    Cambodia delays damming the Mekong for 10 years

    Cambodia announced yesterday that it will shelve developing new hydroelectric dams on the Mekong River for the next decade. A senior Cambodian official made the announcement as Cambodia reviews its policy to seek solar energy as well as energy from coal and natural gas. The Mekong river sustains some 60 million people and flows through six countries… China, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos,…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesThai water officials warn local authorities to get ready for shortages

    Thai water officials warn local authorities to get ready for shortages

    The Office of the National Water Resources is warning that water stored in the country’s large and medium size dams is now dropping to the minimum useable level, urging measures from local agencies to ease the impact on the public. This warning goes out with another three months of dry season hanging over Thailand’s head. The annual ‘wet season’ kicks…

  • Northern Thailand NewsTorrential rain in Thailand’s north and north-east from Podul

    Torrential rain in Thailand’s north and north-east from Podul

    ‘Podul’, the tropical storm that came out of the South China Sea and headed westward through Vietnam into the north of Thailand, has now weakened but inundated parts of the north-east and northern Thailand in its wake. Flooding in and around Khon Kaen has been reported to be as high as three metres with over 1,000 houses inundated. Homes and cars…

  • Environment NewsPhuket’s water bosses claim there will be enough water

    Phuket’s water bosses claim there will be enough water

    PHOTO: Bang Neow Dam in Thalang, just a few muddy ponds Well into the second half of the Phuket wet season and the three main dams are well below capacity, Bang Wad Dam just over 13% capacity and the Bang Neow Dam in Thalang district around 5%, mostly unusable muddy ponds. The newer Khlong Katha in Chalong is at a…

  • World NewsDams, politics and greed are killing the mighty Mekong River

    Dams, politics and greed are killing the mighty Mekong River

    Original story by Piyaporn Wongruang – The Nation | PHOTO: Sophie et Fred Dr Chainarong Setthachua, a lecturer and ecology expert at Maha Sarakham University, was at a loss when asked to describe the ongoing Mekong crisis. “The most disastrous situation in history.” Little is being done by governments despite recent stories and stark photos of the dried-bed of a major…

  • Northern Thailand NewsDepartment ramps up cloud-seeding to ease drought in the Thailand’s northeast

    Department ramps up cloud-seeding to ease drought in the Thailand’s northeast

    “…he noted that drought in the middle of a wet season is very unusual.” The Department of Rain-making and Agricultural Aviation is stepping up cloud-seeding efforts to help generate much-needed rain for drought areas in the central-north and north-east regions of the country. Some areas need urgent rains to replenish the region’s eight major and 11 medium-sized reservoirs, where water…

  • World NewsMekong River drops to lowest level in a century around Thai, Lao, Myanmar border

    Mekong River drops to lowest level in a century around Thai, Lao, Myanmar border

    Water levels in the Mekong River are now at the lowest point in a century as of July 19, lower than a record set in April 1973. South East Asia’s Stimson Centre claims that, based on recent satellite images, the drastic lowering of the water level in the river has exposed many islets and sandbars adding. The Centre’s report refers…

  • Northern Thailand News“Worst drought in living memory”, Thai farmers in the north

    “Worst drought in living memory”, Thai farmers in the north

    Parts of Thailand are facing their worst drought in 50 years. Farmers in some parts of the north and north east say that the situation is the “worst in living memory”, as reported in Sanook. Meanwhile, The Meteorological Department says Thailand will experience the worst drought in at least a decade, with average precipitation across large regions of the country falling…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesPhuket’s recent rains allow PWA to restore mains pressure around the island

    Phuket’s recent rains allow PWA to restore mains pressure around the island

    The Chief of Phuket’s Provincial Waterworks Authority says that water pressure to most areas across the island has been restored (but The Thaiger is still getting reports from residents in Kamala and parts of Kathu about low flow or still no water mains pressure). Phuket Town recorded nearly 80mm of rainfall on Saturday night when heavy rains, the first for…

  • Phuket NewsArmy commander visits Phuket residents to discuss water shortage

    Army commander visits Phuket residents to discuss water shortage

    Lt Gen Pornsak Poonsawat, the Commander of the Fourth Army Region (Southern) in Nakhon Si Thammarat, came to Phuket to visit residents over water shortage issues in Rassada. Lt Gen Pornsak says “we were contacted from the Phuket Governor that Phuket is facing serious water shortages. We have come here with water trucks to help residents to join with other…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesPhuket’s water lords confident of supplies and back-up plans

    Phuket’s water lords confident of supplies and back-up plans

    PHOTO: Welcome to the moonscape – Bang Neow Dum off Srisoonthorn Road Well in to the second half of April in Phuket and the water situation is still dire, despite repeated assurances from the Provincial Irrigration Office and the Phuket Water Authority. The most recent assessment of the island’s three main catchments were that there was 2.8 million cubic metres of…

  • Thailand Weather UpdatesRoll out the water trucks – Phuket’s water runs low

    Roll out the water trucks – Phuket’s water runs low

    by Salinee Prap Many areas of Phuket have suffered a shortage of tap water, with inconsistent or no flow, prompting business operators and residents to buy water from the private sector. Phuket as an island, is usually self-sufficient with its water supply, with three large catchments on the island serving locals, expats and the 12 million annual tourists. Phuket governor…

  • Phuket NewsWater restrictions announced as water levels in Phuket reservoirs drop

    Water restrictions announced as water levels in Phuket reservoirs drop

    The Phuket Waterworks Authority (PWA) has announced a date for water restrictions to start in some Phuket areas. They say the reason is water levels at reservoirs in Phuket are getting low in the dry seasons and they predict it will continue for the next three months. Water will be restricted for residents on even dates starting February 8 for…

  • Thailand News4.9 magnitude earthquake registered in Kanchanaburi

    4.9 magnitude earthquake registered in Kanchanaburi

    In the latest of a spate of earthquake reports for the region, principally in Indonesia and The Philippines, a report this morning from the Si Sawat district of Kanchanaburi with a tremor registering 4.9 on the Richter scale. No casualties or damage has been recorded. Seismologists report that the quake was two kilometres underground and was sensed in Kanchanaburi, Chai…

  • Thailand NewsWet season, not so wet – some dams are less than 60% full

    Wet season, not so wet – some dams are less than 60% full

    FILE PHOTO: Ubonrat Dam – The Nation Emerging from the back end of the annual wet season, Thailand should be well poised for adequate water supplies for the forthcoming dry season. There’s been major flooding of some dams in the central, far north-eastern and some southern areas. But the wet season rains have been ‘lumpy’ leaving many of the country’s…

  • Phuket NewsDams will cope with this weekend’s weather – Irrigation Department

    Dams will cope with this weekend’s weather – Irrigation Department

    The water regulation authorities say they’re ready for heavy rains forecast this weekend and the situation is under control. The National Water Resources Office and Royal Irrigation Department (RID) has confirmed that the authorities and the irrigation system were ready to receive large amounts of precipitation during the extraordinary wet period, which is affecting almost every part of the country.…

  • Hua Hin NewsFlooding in Phuket, Phetchaburi and Mae Hong Son

    Flooding in Phuket, Phetchaburi and Mae Hong Son

    PHOTO: Samkong underpass, Phuket – Newshawk Bad weather has hit Phang Nga and Phuket this morning whilst the flooding waters from the Kaeng Krachan dam in Phetchaburi are now reaching the main business district. In Phuket the major arteries are being clogged by flooding waters creating havoc for this morning’s peak hour. The Marine Office has issued a warning for…

  • Thailand NewsEight Thai dams on ‘floodwatch’

    Eight Thai dams on ‘floodwatch’

    The Mekong River is steadily dropping, but a ‘flood watch’ is on for some central north-eastern dams as well as two dams south of Bangkok. The Office of National Water Resources secretary-general Somkiat Prajumwong says the department is keeping a close watch on eight large-sized dams which are holding water at alarming levels. The eight dams are Nam Phung dam…

  • Northern Thailand NewsGood news from dams in the north-east

    Good news from dams in the north-east

    Whilst provinces bordering the Mekong River, and areas in Phetchaburi downstream of the hillside dams, are all under threat from flooding at the moment, the situation is a lot better in the lower north-east provinces. The Irrigation department has issued assurances today about the water situation covering some 77 dams in the region. The Nation reports that 77 reservoirs in…