‘Urgent Action’ Needed To Stop Bangkok Sinking

Immediate solutions are needed to prevent Bangkok from sinking 15 years from now, with experts warning that the capital might even have to be relocated.

  A committee set up by the ruling National Reform Council warned that due to rising sea levels and the weight of heavy buildings, the Thai capital may be submerged in water in less than 15 years if urgent action is not taken, the Bangkok Post reported.

 The NRC committee submitted a report to parliament concluding that Bangkok is only 0.5 to 2 metres above sea level, with further subsidence expected through the excessive use of underground pumping and an increase in construction.

 Witthaya Kulsomboon, head of the committee, said: “There are about 700 buildings with 20 floors or more and 4,000 buildings with 8 to 20 floors in Bangkok.

 “These could cause the submergence of parts of Bangkok and surrounding areas in the future”.

 Mr Witthaya added that solutions must be urgently implemented and the relocation of the capital might have to be considered.

 Reform councillors have supported this idea, proposing that the government move industries and businesses out of the capital.

 Sujarit Khunthanakulwong, a member of the NRC committee, said that construction must be controlled, and recommended building a sea wall embankment to protect the greater Bangkok area from rising sea levels.

 “Otherwise,” he said, “Bangkok will be submerged in 15 years”.

 The NRC is to send its report to the cabinet in seven days and is urging the prime minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, to chair a national committee in order to avert this catastrophe.