Vientiane Capital Suffers Flash Floods Due to Poor Drainage and Infrastructure Maintenance

Residents in Sikhottabong and Xaythany districts have reported flash floods inundating their houses and blocking the roads, a power downside that got here to a head final 12 months after a number of elements of the nation’s capital suffered extreme flooding.

Affected communities say floods have been brought on by prolonged street and residential development initiatives that permit sand and different runoff to clog drains.

“When any development mission begins, the contractors bury the drainage system, which is why the roads in entrance of my home are actually flooded. It occurs yearly!” One affected resident in Sikhottabong district instructed Laotian Occasions.

In the meantime, residents within the close by Xaythany district have additionally been impacted, with floodwaters reportedly inundating greater than 20 hectares of rice fields and destroying agricultural produce.

Mr. Khanxay Keophankham, Chief of Lat Khouay Village in Xaythany district, stated in an interview with Vte9 Information that the drainage pipes in his village are undersized, leading to sluggish drainage of floodwaters.

In response to the state of affairs, the Xaythany District Workplace of Public Works and Transport has performed an inspection in collaboration with native authorities to guage the extent of the injury and discover a appropriate decision.

Addressing the necessity for proactive measures, the village chief has appealed to authorities to supply a long-term answer to the recurring subject of flooding in his neighborhood.

The Division of Public Works and Transport set a funds of almost LAK 20 billion (over USD 1 million in 2023) to handle each momentary and long-term flooding on main roads all through Vientiane’s Capital in August 2022.

Director of the Vientiane Public Works and Transport Division, Mr. Soulivanh Phommahaxay, stated that the sluggish drainage of water in areas of the Sikhottabong District and the difficulty with some companies constructing amenities and blocking drainage triggered the floods in Vientiane Capital in 2022.

With 2023 formally labeled as an El Niño 12 months, the standard impression of El Niño on Southeast Asia is drier-than-average rainfall situations, in response to the Climate and Local weather Providers for ASEAN (ASMC). Regardless of the decreased danger of pure floods, improper design and upkeep of infrastructure proceed to trigger flash flooding in city areas in the course of the monsoon season in Laos.