Residents point out the flooded areas near the railway and reveals that erosion can be life threatening . They said that creating a slope is necessary to prevent erosion as the railway is higher than most other areas and it blocks the water flow when it rains
November 19, 2015, a resident who wished to remain anonymous filed a complaint to Pattaya authorities that the railway area near Khao Talo and other parts would flood, every time it rains. Because of the higher level of the railway, the floods go as deep as 2-3 meters in some areas (meaning in the canal), disabling traffic complete when it rains. The main problem is that the canals created near the railways cannot handle such amount of water as it doesn’t drain in time, causing the water level to overflow out of canal and rush various different areas, also putting the railway at risk of erosion.
In the past, there was no railway track running through but a canal that connects to the ocean. Since Pattaya’s economy has started to grow, the railway track was created shortly afterward and soil was piled up in between the canals and blocking a portion of the water flow. After a few heavy rainfalls, Pattaya authorities have only attempted to encounter the floods by locating electric pumps to suck away the water, but that doesn’t help much due to the massive amount of water that streams down from Khao Talo, Nernplubwan, Soi Siam Country Club and other large sois in the area. The other issue is that the pumps are powered by electric, and if the electric goes out then the pumps are useless.
After several years of battling the floods with pumps, the State Railway Department Pattaya has decided to hire the CNJ Limited to create protective slopes made of cement to prevent erosion. Pattaya engineer members have already commenced in digging out the mud and rubbish in the canal to prepare for the construction of the slopes and they have estimated to complete the project before New Year. However, Pattaya will still have to find other strategies to prevent erosion and the flooding issues as well on a long term basis.
