She explained that drainage pipes had been kept clear too and this had helped Patong avoid the annual monsoon-season flooding. She noted that these chores were ongoing, but time consuming and costly, and so a long-term solution might be to build a holding reservoir for excess rainwater.
The mayor said the local council had just been granted a THB420 million budget for the construction of flood prevention infrastructure. This will be utilised to build a drainage channel from Bang Ton Khao Khlong in north Patong to the coast.
The blueprint shows that a defence wall will be built in the south too to hold back waves and stop the sea from flooding the lower reaches of Patong. The wall will be built along Pak Bang canal and reinforced and heightened in case of landslips.
During the annual rainy season over the past two decades, flooding has been a regular occurrence in Patong. Locations such as the police station are often swamped with floodwater up to 80 centimetres deep.
Phuket enhances flood defences for Patong Town
News in Asia
The mayor of Phuket’s Patong Town says flood defences are being enhanced and should be adequate enough to handle monsoon rain runoff. Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup told reporters on the southern Thai holiday isle that municipal workers had been clearing obstructions from and dredging streams and canals.