Abstract:
Established for more than 600 years, Nan is not only a city whose city plan balances between residential areas and water management system but also the governmental, commercial and service center of the province. Later, there is a more demand for land use; as a result, buildings and utility systems are set up in the areas where they were used as drainage system and floodway. This leads to more frequent and more severe floods, resulting in damage to housing, economic areas, important buildings and major roads in the city. The damage costs the city a fortune economically. This study focused on the physical impacts of floods and the objectives of this study were to 1) examine the citys geographical features, structure and physical elements, 2) investigate floods, their occurrence and their causes , and 3) analyze the severity of floods and their impacts on the built-up areas and the infrastructure in Nan city. The methodology covered the analysis of the amount of rainfall, the amount of runoff and the land use by using Nays2D Flood program, which reproduced floods. Then their occurrences and their impacts were analyzed. It was found that the 2006 and the 2011 floods in Nan city were caused by the heavy rainfall in the mountains to the west of the city. The highest level of rainfall was gauged at 103.3 millimeter a day. In addition, the deforestation in the watershed area caused the rivers to overflow the city. The encroachment of drainage and the road construction obstructing the drainage were major factors which increased the severity of the floods. According to the findings obtained from the study of 2011 floods, the water level and the duration of inundation were related. Eleven communities were flooded for 1 day with the water level from 0.00 to 0.50 meter. Twelve communities were flooded for 2 days with the water level from 0.51 to 1.50 meters. Three communities were flooded for 3 days with the water level over 1.50 meters and four communities stayed dry. Moreover, the severity of the floods were in line with the type of building in that the building whose first floor was extended for functional use was affected more since it was built on the low lying area and the area was not elevated with more dirt. Meanwhile,newly-constructed buildings were less affected because they were elevated higher than the watermark left by the previous flood. These newly-constructed buildings will lead to more severity of floods because they obstruct the water flow; consequently, the water level will be higher and stay longer. To solve these problems, buildings should be built on high stilts rather than elevating the area by filling it in and flood-prone areas should be determined so that they can be well-prepared for the approaching floods.