Monsoon Rain

 

This is apparently the tail end of the monsoon. Weather reports say over the next two weeks, rain will taper off and cooler air will move in from the north.

No serious flooding in the city this year, though some other parts of the province saw rivers overflow and people having to evacuate. (Including an elephant sanctuary.) But the Mae Ping is for sure not the same river we saw in January.

Important to note: over the last year, the city has done a lot to prevent and prepare. There's been extensive dredging and levee-building inside the city, significantly increasing the capacity and flow rate of the river. There was a major tunnelling project just completed, which also enhanced stormwater management (I am not sure exactly what it does, it doesn't seem to be a siphon like the Big Pipe that was built in Portland some years back). I believe these measures spared the city a world of hurt - as the river did reach what has formerly been considered critical flood levels, but didn't overflow.

Local agencies were on alert through the early days of this week, as Tropical Storm Bualoi was breaking down over Vietnam and drawing the southwest monsoon strongly into the peninsula. But the threat did not materialize and everyone was able to relax. Except that apparently some rogue cows escaped their pasture and went wandering into a highway... 

Oh, and when the rain stops, you get a sky like this: