Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Service, called the RID, estimates it will take two to three days to drain the flooded “Bangpoo Industrial Estate” industrial estate in Samut Prakan province.
The area, with 300 factories, is still under 50-100 centimetres of water.
The floods have forced major manufacturers, including Delta Electronics, which has three factories in Bangpoo, to suspend operations until water levels have returned to safe levels.
The RID said it will divert the floodwater through canals and the Bang Pakong River in Chachoengsao province to the Gulf of Thailand.
Heavy rainfall and high sea levels caused flooding of up to 1.5 meters on the estate on Sunday (August 29).
RIDK chief Prapit Chanma said yesterday that four Samut Prakan districts are still underwater: Bang Bo, Bang Phli, Bang Sao Thong and Muang. Flood levels range from 20-30 cm to 50 cm in low-lying areas.
Six additional pumps at the Chonlaharn Phichit pumping station plus water pumps along nine coastal canals discharge at least 20 million cubic meters per day into the sea, the RID said. Meanwhile, the upstream water from the Phra Prachan Chayanuchit Canal is diverted to the Bang Pakong River in Chachoengsao Province to protect Samut Prakan.
Songsak Chuenta, deputy director of Bangpoo Industrial Estate, said 11 pumps operating on the estate now discharge up to 70,000 cubic meters of water per hour.
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