Traffic chaos as city’s roads turned into klongs

 

 

Many streets in Bangkok were turned into klongs after heavy rains fuelled by summer storm battered the city in the evening (April 27).

 

One bus stop shelter in front of the PTT head office on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road collapsed from strong wind, but, fortunately, there was no one there at the time.

 

Bumper-to-bumper traffic was reported on most water-logged roads as cars could hardly move.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/traffic-chaos-citys-roads-turned-klongs/

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-04-28

Welcome to the world of the automobile in a city originally built for boats. You can build all the elevated highways you want but all those cars still have to come down to ground (or water) level where houses, shops, factories exist. In a week when Bangkok people are being made aware of false advertising its maybe time to give some thought to all the adverts for vehicles that never show one in a traffic jam or a flood. Reality is often harsh. 

Meanwhile while stuck in traffic jams,  car windows opened out went all the KFC/ Mc Donalds wrappers ( so as not make the car smell) blocking more drains, creating more problems.

i have seen this movie.

 

i would change the channel but it would be a horrible bus wreck and i have seen that movie too.

7 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

i have seen this movie.

 

i would change the channel but it would be a horrible bus wreck and i have seen that movie too.

You can only watch repeats a couple of times, true.

Congratulate the actual government for "solving" the floating problem in Bangkok!!!

Bangkok is doomed. Less than 30 years before it slitheres/sinks into the bay. Anyone upset yet? No! I thought not. Start moving the capital to Udon Thani! All the HiSos can go to Hua Hin; plenty of room there.

25 minutes ago, peperobi said:

Congratulate the actual government for "solving" the floating problem in Bangkok!!!

And how - pray tell - do they solve sea level rise ?

16 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

And how - pray tell - do they solve sea level rise ?

Dredge the canals, unblock the drains NOT after,  but periodic cleaning this will help a lot.   BUT  that costs money ???

See, if they had waited a week they could have got wet without the need for Songkran madness !

Plastic bags rubbish thrown out of vehicles, no control or heavy fines for dumping in waterways, prevention less problems.

46 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Start moving the capital

Obviously you haven't been up north lately. Most wealthy people already have a plateau house for the "week-end"

3 hours ago, Lungstib said:

Welcome to the world of the automobile in a city originally built for boats. You can build all the elevated highways you want but all those cars still have to come down to ground (or water) level where houses, shops, factories exist. In a week when Bangkok people are being made aware of false advertising its maybe time to give some thought to all the adverts for vehicles that never show one in a traffic jam or a flood. Reality is often harsh. 

First comming here in 1961 there were many navigable and clear kalongs all over the city .When comimg back here in 1975 I noticed that at least have of them were filled in and paved over for roads,Satorn road kalong was filled and paved over in about 1978 or so.It was in the 1970s that the normal every year was floods through out Bangkok. In a city where the government steals the tax money for their own personal enrichments then it will never change.

52 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

And how - pray tell - do they solve sea level rise ?

What sea level rise ?  More likely Bangkok is actually sinking.

54 minutes ago, ginjag said:

Dredge the canals, unblock the drains NOT after,  but periodic cleaning this will help a lot.   BUT  that costs money ???

Your comment is spot on, but there is no money, as it has been drained off into officials bank accounts.

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Traffic chaos as city’s roads turned into klongs

That's because in the fairly recent past, the city of Bangkok turned klongs into city roads. 

 

It's not rocket science, but it does tend to go over the heads of those living in a  culture which embraces a singularly short-term time horizon. 

An off topic post has been removed.

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Bangkok is doomed. Less than 30 years before it slitheres/sinks into the bay. Anyone upset yet? No! I thought not. Start moving the capital to Udon Thani! All the HiSos can go to Hua Hin; plenty of room there.

psychological and logistics, financial, military grounds are set already to move to the future capital of Khorat

To be fair, days when it rains like that are almost impossible to cater for. Accept that when a tropical storm comes, Bangkok is going to flood. The greater issue is in October -ish, when the waters from the north arrive. 

As much as the city has grown much of the city never saw a klong. Just too many people in a not very good planned city

4 hours ago, colinneil said:

Meanwhile while stuck in traffic jams,  car windows opened out went all the KFC/ Mc Donalds wrappers ( so as not make the car smell) blocking more drains, creating more problems.

 

Its an issue, but there are bigger problems with Bangkok's drainage system than rubbish.  The system is not designed to cope with the amount of rain they get, it can deal with 120mm of rain per day while it often rains more than that in a day, 200mm in one night caused last years worst flood.  When the drainage system can no longer cope they then turn on the pumps to pump some of it directly into the canals, which works when the canals have been drained in expectation of a heavy rain, but when the amount of rain comes as a surprise, as it often does, the canals are still full and then they have a flood.  There are areas designated as water collection areas, designed to ease the drainage system by allowing water to build up and slowly drain away over the coming days, however 40% of these have been given up already for development, so now there is nowhere near enough space to cope with the buildup that the woefully under rated drainage system cant deal with.  They need to redesign the system instead of relying of the canals which cannot be drained fast enough, and keep the system clear of rubbish.

41 minutes ago, TEFLKrabi said:

To be fair, days when it rains like that are almost impossible to cater for. Accept that when a tropical storm comes, Bangkok is going to flood. The greater issue is in October -ish, when the waters from the north arrive. 

 

They need a system that can cope with roughly twice as much as the current system can deal with, they can deal with 120mm of rain, why do you assume that 200mm, like caused last years floods, is almost impossible?

First it was Tour De France... now it is Venice 

1 hour ago, TEFLKrabi said:

To be fair, days when it rains like that are almost impossible to cater for. Accept that when a tropical storm comes, Bangkok is going to flood. The greater issue is in October -ish, when the waters from the north arrive. 

Singapore got the gist of living in a tropical zone

2 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Obviously you haven't been up north lately. Most wealthy people already have a plateau house for the "week-end"

You are no-doubt correct VN. The north has historically had a large slice of the pie. 

 

Never been up north in Thailand. I live in the North East. The better properties around me are being built by policemen and government officers.

 

I believe in a proper democracy and that, for me, means people in their areas having a decent shout about their lives and future. Seems like all the shouting, what little there is, originates from Bangkok. But Bangkok's days are numbered (the city not the elites). 

3 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Bangkok is doomed. Less than 30 years before it slitheres/sinks into the bay. Anyone upset yet? No! I thought not. Start moving the capital to Udon Thani! All the HiSos can go to Hua Hin; plenty of room there.

Hua Hin has some water back up issues too, but they are not as severe as in Bangkok. Know why?  It's because they haven't paved over ever bit of land, yet and haven't cut down every tree, yet. Bangkok has lost its natural ability to absorb and retain water. That's what happens when asphalt and concrete rplace natral land.

17 minutes ago, BEVUP said:

Singapore got the gist of living in a tropical zone

 

Sure, it's only had two major floods so far this year!

3 hours ago, ginjag said:

Dredge the canals, unblock the drains NOT after,  but periodic cleaning this will help a lot.   BUT  that costs money ???

Never going to happen,because that would cost money and the city's tax money is already slated a year in advance to be shared with the leaders of BKK for their children's new Benz and their education abroad to a real education system.   If one of these officals owns a dreadging company and he agrees to share his "rip off' money then some of the kalongs will get an effort for show....

27 minutes ago, tifino said:

First it was Tour De France... now it is Venice 

 

Pedalos might be the solution

2 hours ago, eliotness said:

What sea level rise ?  More likely Bangkok is actually sinking.

Combination?