The rainy season certainly took a stranglehold on Thailand in 2011, seems like no region or city throughout Thailand was left unaffected. Pattaya, a city which usually receives less rainfall than most parts of Thailand, has seen one of the longest rainy seasons in recent years and virtually no corner of Pattaya escaped one especially torrential downpour lasting upward of 10 hours. These photos (below) show the resulting floods after that one particularly heavy downpour in a village in East Pattaya.
When it rains in Thailand it usually rains with a vengeance, it is often said that the drainage systems in Pattaya are poorly built and designed, but a prolonged heavy downpour like the one which caused the flooding in these pictures would be pretty much impossible for any drainage system to handle.
What made the flooding more severe for this particular Pattaya village was the flood water running in to a pond (klong) behind the boundary wall, the water rose so high that it threatened the integrity of the wall, the Pattaya local council (Tessa Bahn) knocked holes in the wall to allow a steady flow of water rather than a damaging surge if the wall had been pushed over by the sheer pressure of water pushing against it.
Despite this flood being a minor crisis for most people, the kids made the best of it, as seen in the photo (above), boating was the theme for the day.
like I said, boating was the theme for the day, and like the young lad in the picture (above) found out, boats are a much better way to commute on water.
You know it’s a serious flood when you have to lay sandbags outside the house, fortunately the floodwater did not rise high enough to enter the house but just a few more inches would have resulted in some serious flood damage and serious repair bills to match.
If I was a prospective house buyer looking to buy property in Pattaya, I would keep in mind how my property might be affected by floods, is it in a lowland basin, is it in the path of potential floodwater runoff ??.