Bangkok Floods

[Guest kjun12]

Hope all you other Bangkok residents are OK. We're sitting in my home waiting for the water to reach here. We've done all the preparing we can and now it's just hanging in to see what happens. Take care of yourselves and be careful.

[Guest fountainhall]

I believe you are in the northern part of the city where it seems some districts are already under water. Wish you lots of luck in keeping it at bay. Here near the northern part of Sathorn we are closer to the lower part of the river and consequently the incoming high tides are the bigger worry. Our condo is sandbagged and I have my sturdy Wellington boots (known in some other parts of the world as "gum boots" - do you chew them??) at the ready.

 

There's an eerie calm around the city today. For the last two days, there has been no rain at all and the weather has been bright and sunny. Maybe the sun will burn off some of the water. Well, we can always hope!

[bkkguy]

From where I stay in Surawong I am still not too worried about having to wade knee deep through flood waters but am more concerned about the "Mother Hubbard" effect - the percentage of empty shelves at 7-11's and supermarkets in the area because of "distribution" problems is increasing daily and four chain restaurants in Silom Complex are already closed for the same reason, and doubling the amount of sandbags on the street is not going to help this!

 

bkkguy

[BigTopMe]

i left just as it was all getting bad i do hope everyone is alright

[Guest fountainhall]

I've been in two TOPS supermarkets today - Central Chidlom in the early afternoon and the corner of Nanglingchee and Yen Akat this evening. Central Chidlom was out of all bottled waters and eggs, I saw hardly any boxes of facial tissue, and some imported foods like cereals, yoghurt, long-life milk and frozen foods were in short supply. There were plenty of fruits and most other supplies.

 

The shelves in Nanglingchee were much more bare. That may have been partly be due to my visit being near the end of the day. It did, surprisingly, have a stock of bottled water, but only Evian at Bt. 76 per 1.5 litre bottle - or 3 bottles for the price of 2!

[Guest fountainhall]

The latest flooding warnings for Bangkok are finally sounding more serious. This from today's The Nation -

 

While the flood situation in Bangkok remained relatively stable over the weekend, the capital faces the threat of deluge from two huge masses of water northeast of the city over coming days, a senior Royal Irrigation Department official warned yesterday.

 

"The first mass of water has left Rangsit canal briming, and spilling over the parallel Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok road [running in an east-west direction] north of Bangkok, which doubles as a flood barrier," said the official, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the news.

 

The second mass of water, now trapped further north beyond the Klong Luang road in Pathum Thani [which also runs east-west], was also building, and would soon cross the road to add to the first, he explained.

 

"When these two lots [of water] combine, in the next few days, they will amass and break through barriers along Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok road and head to further inundate Lak Luk Ka district in Pathum Thani, then Don Muang in northern Bangkok," he said.

 

"The first lot is already inundating areas near Klong 1, 2 and 3 on the Phaholyothin Road side, but the Klong Luang road cannot hold the second lot for much longer."

 

Flooding in these areas near Klong 1, 2 and 3 cannot be drained westward through Phra-in Racha water-gate, as the doors would only be damaged by strong currents and huge influx.

 

The spill-over from the first lot of water was also moving east and swamping a motorway section linking Bangkok and the East, the official said.

 

People living in flooded areas could expect to be underwater for another month, as water further north coming toward Bangkok was equivalent to the capacity of Bhumibol Dam, at around 12 billion cubic metres, Rangsit University flood and water management expert Dr Seri Supharathit said.

 

Bangkok residents are advised to stockpile tapwater, as the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority governor Charoen Phassara yesterday described the tapwater situation "as worse than expected".

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Mega-waves-still-to-come-30168457.html

 

The cabinet has just declared public holidays on the 27th, 28th and 31st for all flood affected provinces, including Bangkok. The Central Bank is discussing bank closures during these holidays.

 

Also Nok AIr has announced the cancellation of all flights until noon on Monday 31st. This is because water has begin to flow into the area just north of the airport.

[Guest fountainhall]

After several hot and sunny days, the rain has returned to Bangkok. Late this afternoon, I could see storm systems from the south east and the south west converging on the city. There's now a lot of thunder about, but not a great deal of rain - yet!

[Guest fountainhall]

Traffic was very light in Bangkok today, almost like a holiday, although these do not officially start till tomorrow. The biggest problem I encountered was taxis. There are not nearly as many, and they are far more picky about where they go. Most are looking for long journeys. At 4:30pm, it was the 6th or 7th I stopped before I got one to get me home.

 

Chatted to an overseas-based Thai in Central Chidlom. Some weeks ago he'd booked to go to Chiang Mai tomorrow on Nok! He managed to get a seat on Thai Air Asia, but at a much higher price. He said he's hoping his insurance will cover the difference. i merely smiled and said, "Good Luck!" Floods and airport closures come under 'Acts of God', I reckon.

 

Lot of sun and no rain today - so far.

[Guest fountainhall]

kjun12 - how are you getting on? Have the floods reached you yet?

[Guest fountainhall]

There is a perceptive and insightful commentry on the floods in The Nation today. It basically suggests that they could in large measure have been prevented

[Bob]

that Yingluck has to take much of the blame, both for putting the wrong people in the wrong jobs and making the wrong decisions.

 

The current flood problem was largely due to several things: (1) the annual gamble by somebody as to how much water to retain in the main dams (the gamble being how much rain to expect versus attempting to keep as much water around to benefit local farmers as possible)and simply guessing wrong, (2) failure to adequately build infrastructure to take care of the known periodic problem; (3) building other items (roads, buildings, etc.) without maintaining any thought as to how such activities fit into the overall drainage plan that should have been in place and (4) mother nature. The current Prime Minister wasn't around for the first three failures and she, with or without a magic wand or the right amulet, can't control the fourth. I'm doubtful that anybody who was made Prime Minister in August could have avoided to any significant degree the mess they have right now.

 

Yingluck may have appointed less than competent people to some jobs but they didn't cause the current mess either and the "incompetence" part is simply a part of what's normal in any Thai government I've ever seen. Hell, it was the head of the Ministry of Science and Technology that 2-3 years back proclaimed that Bangkok didn't have to worry about the melting of the north and south poles as Bangkok was "too far away" from the poles. That, sadly, is about on the same par with the "boat propeller maneuver" recently tried and touted (and, for whatever reason, only laughed at by falang!).

 

Will the Thai government decide to hire a group of international engineering experts to intelligently decide what massive infrastructure plan is needed to prevent almost all future flooding? And then implement the plan (1) putting thousands of Thais to work, (2) preventing this from happening again, and (3) doing it in a fashion that 10-30% doesn't get siphoned off in tea money? I'd guess "no" on all aspects of those notions.

[Guest fountainhall]

I agree with most of Bob's comments. But I do think Yingkuck definitely bears some responsibility. After all, she is the one who, after rightly being accused of being a political novice, went around proclaiming her abilities as an organiser and a corporate executive who gets things done.

 

What she forgot - and what her wily brother clearly forgot to remind her - is that when push comes to shove, politicians and political appointees are not corporate executives. They have very different reasons for seeking power and holding on to it. She should have realised that loyalty to a party and a leader is not one of most Thai MPs' virtues. The back stabbing and recriminations will come thick and fast once this flood crisis is over. In the meantime, Yingluck's government failed to anticipate the problem (after all, it really was not that much of a sudden surprise), all actions seem to be taken at the last minute - reactive rather than proactive - and her signal failure to ensure one voice for her government rather than the cacophany of misleading and often downright innacurate predictions gives the lie to her being a leader of anything, let alone a major corporation or a government.

 

Sure, she is not responsible for a good deal of what is happening. But she heads the government, and a lot of people are finding a lot of failings as the crisis unfolds. Very little in the way of organisation; even less in the way of crisis management.

[Guest fountainhall]

This is quite cute - and gives pretty good reasons why there is such massive flooding despite annual rainfall not being much higher than average,

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAKF1zXEiQY

[Guest fountainhall]

The optimism generated by the relative lack of flood water hitting Bangkok at the week-end was misplaced. The Nation is now reporting that more areas of the capital are becoming submerged and more roads are being flooded. Here is The Nation's latest flood map -

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/More-roads-in-capital-swamped-30169035.html

 

Even more worrying, it seems many citizens are taking it into their own hands to destroy more of the flood barriers. There is even more talk now about threats to Suvarnabhumi, even though the airport authorities say their defences are virtually impregnable. Now, how often have we heard that before during this crisis?

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Suvarnabhumi-will-be-safe-30169043.html

[Guest fountainhall]

As both English newspapers today report that floodwater is creeping closer to the centre of the Bangkok, two more worrying news items caught my attention.

 

With Suvarnabhumi having only recently had its busiest day ever (thanks to the relocation of flights from flooded Don Muaeng), the Bangkok Post reports that the flooding has now started to have an affect on inbound arrivals.

 

Flooded Don Mueang - from The Bangkok Post: PHOTO: PATIPAT JANTHONG

 

Airlines Reducing Flight Schedules

 

Several carriers have already slashed their frequencies through Bangkok, and further cutbacks are looming on the horizon.

 

Cathay Pacific has reportedly halved its Bangkok-Hong Kong service to two flights a day, while Orient Thai Airlines has suspended its daily flight on the same route covered by a Boeing 747 jumbo jet.

 

The moves come as more Hong Kong tourists cancel their journeys in the wake of their government raising its travel advisory bar for Thailand to "red".

 

"We are witnessing a virtual standstill of traffic from North and East Asia - China, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong," Udom Tantiprasongchai, the founder of Orient Thai Airlines, which concentrates on that region, told the Bangkok Post.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/264476/passenger-numbers-dive-at-main-airport

 

Cathay Pacific

[pong]

this has indeed been extensibyly shown an about any of the 10+ channels on TV showing nam tuam and more floods. NOone told how fast these creepies can go-and if the stay alive longtime in water-or not? To calm all of you: Pak Kred is some 15-20 kms away from the Silom safety zone, where most of you never venture out of.

Danger of getting electrocuted seems still far higher.

[Guest fountainhall]

this has indeed been extensibyly shown an about any of the 10+ channels on TV showing nam tuam and more floods . . . Danger of getting electrocuted seems still far higher.

We have quite a number of readers who live overseas and might not have heard the info re the snakes. Like you, I wanted to know more about their habits. This is what one site states:

 

The Eastern Green Mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps) is a venomous snake related to the highly dangerous Black Mamba. The Green Mamba is less aggressive and smaller than the Black Mamba, they average around 6 feet. The Green Mamba's venom is also significantly less toxic, however a single bite could certainly be fatal to a human. Green mambas are highly arboreal and almost never touch the ground.

http://goafrica.about.com/od/africasafariguide/tp/Africansnakes.htm

 

There's an interesting post on thaivisa.com -

 

This is no laughing matter. The biggest danger here comes from self-proclaimed snake specialists that mistakenly identify one of these for the common, less venomous green tree snakes. The green mamba CAN KILL YOU . . . As for "local snakes having a meal of them" - that's actually quite possible. Hopefully the cobras roaming around are hungry and not too stressed out to eat.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/509762-danger-from-the-flood-emerges-as-deadly-green-mambas-escape/

 

According to another poster, the snake is indigenous to southern and eastern Africa, not South America! Thai officialdom gets it wrong - again!

 

But the bigger problem seems to be that Thailand has perfect conditions for breeding green mambas. If these snakes are not caught or gobbled up by some other creatures, apparently there exists the real danger that they will start to reproduce! Who knows? In the fullness of time the might indeed be seen in Silom!!

[Guest]

I hope the Thais have the sense to hunt down these snakes.

 

Onto matters that we can influence, what's the outlook for travel to Thailand in December?

 

I'm betting the dry season will have kicked in & there will be no danger of flooding within central Bangkok (assuming they get through the next week or 2).

Then what about planning travel overland to Siem Reap? If there is continuing risk of disruption to rail & bus travel, would it be wise to book a flight now?

[ceejay]

Then what about planning travel overland to Siem Reap? If there is continuing risk of disruption to rail & bus travel, would it be wise to book a flight now?

I probably would, if I were booking it myself. Bangkok to Siem Reap is a busy route in relation to the number of planes that fly it. Some flights do sell out.

(This based on a visit 2 years ago. It may have changed since)

[Guest thaiworthy]

I hope the Thais have the sense to hunt down these snakes.

Isn't that like looking for a needle in a haystack?

[Guest fountainhall]

I'm betting the dry season will have kicked in & there will be no danger of flooding within central Bangkok (assuming they get through the next week or 2).

Then what about planning travel overland to Siem Reap? If there is continuing risk of disruption to rail & bus travel, would it be wise to book a flight now?

The thinking seems to be that the country will take at least 4 weeks to dry out. Central Bangkok remains free from floods, but they are creeping closer. However, these are likely to be much shallower than in the outer parts of the city and will flush away much more quickly. I'm sure you'll be fine in December.

 

I agree with ceejay re flights to Siem Reap, though. You are limited to Bangkok Air which is not cheap, plus the flights do sell out fast in peak season. You might be better flying to Phnom Penh on Air Asia - certainly worth a visit - and going by road or internal airline from there.

[Guest fountainhall]

Today's "Officials getting it wrong again" segment.

 

Yesterday, I quoted from a site about the Green Mamba snake. "The Green Mamba . . . average around 6 feet."

 

Funny! Today, they have suddenly got a lot longer -

 

Saying that none of the creatures had been confirmed captured, Wichian urged people not to try to capture or kill the yellowishgreen snakes of 12 metres in length

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Team-hunting-for-deadly-green-mambas-30169175.html

 

Snakes alive!

 

[Guest fountainhall]

Another little tidbit from The Nation:

 

Special waterways will be built as a long-term measure, premier vows

 

His Majesty the King's advice to build waterways to protect the capital and its suburbs from inundation will be taken into consideration as a long-term measure, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday. His Majesty had made this suggestion after the 1980 and 1995 deluges.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Govt-will-heed-His-Majestys-advice-PM-30169182.html

 

Clearly HM's advice was not taken in 1980 and 1995. Are the politicians and civil servants going to forgot it again once the present disaster is over, I wonder? And whilst on matters of speculation, I wonder which politicians are already buying up the land that will be needed to create these waterways? Oh, ye of little faith!

[pong]

And whilst on matters of speculation, I wonder which politicians are already buying up the land that will be needed to create these waterways? Oh, ye of little faith!

Your and my fave mag BK-mag had it-the 1 I grabbed when 1 day in BKK (now CMai)_:

they will build a new canal/river all the way -800 kms- from Chiang Rai to Pattaya, it will have new casino's and floating disco's and these will all be free.

[Guest fountainhall]

Maybe a new PR gimmick for the country. Discos floating through the Bangkok streets every flood season