Bangkok Is Sinking?

[FarangNoi21]

ive heard this many times. bangkok is sinking 2-4 inches a year but there doesn't seem to be any panic about it. so what is happening exactly? will scientists figure out a way to keep the city functioning? Is there going to be a foot of water on the street?

[lazeeboy]

ive heard this many times. bangkok is sinking 2-4 inches a year but there doesn't seem to be any panic about it. so what is happening exactly? will scientists figure out a way to keep the city functioning? Is there going to be a foot of water on the street?

living here 15 years ,so its sunk 30/60 inches ,and not 1 building has collapsed

[peter991]

Undermined

You may not have seen it in the headlines just yet but Bangkok is sinking into the sea. As the population passes six million, the huge consumption of water from the city's wells is depleting the supplies of the underground aquifers. Without water pressure to steady them, the sand and clay layers of these water traps are breaking down. As the earth compresses, the city above sinks, making it increasingly vulnerable to flooding.

The worst of it comes with the monsoon rains and tides in October and December which reach as high as 1.35 metres above average sea level. Bangkok is only 1.5 metres above the sea and some districts are sinking by up to 30 centimetres per year.

When tides are high and the rainfall heavy, the Chao Phraya river rises and cannot empty back into the sea. Six centimetres of rain can leave some streets flooded for a day. In 1984, however, things got considerably worse with a flood which lasted four months and caused damage worth 5264 million.

The problem is not confined to Bangkok. Several cities in Asia are sinking, including towns in Vietnam and Kampuchea, where silt- carrying rivers fan out into deltas as they meet the sea.

But a joint Thai-Canadian engineering team may have found a solution to Bangkok's problem. They are proposing to pump clean treated water drawn from the Chao Phraya, Pasek and Suphan rivers upstream of the city, 50 to 600 metres down into the aquifers to stabilize them and stop the land from subsiding.

Researchers at Bangkok's Asian Institute of Technology where this plan has been developed now need $85,000 to field-test it. But this is relatively cheap when compared to alternative strategies because, as Dr. Prinya of the Institute points out, filling in the lost land could cost about S5 billion. And then there is the huge cost of recurrent flooding which the plan could put an end to.

More links 1 2 3 4

Peter

[Gary A]

When I first came to Thailand in 1991, I was involved in building a factory. The first big question I had was why the bridges on the highway going to the factory were over a meter above the road surface. The answer was that the road was sinking and since the bridges were on pilings they stayed where they were originally put.

The factory sits on hundreds of pilings. They are driven 28 meters into the ground. The first piling would totally sink with just the weight of the driver's hammer. About half of the second piling would sink half way the same way. After the factory was finished, it was seen that they had forgotten about the pilings for loading dock. Since there was not room for the large pile drivers, smaller ones were brought in. After the first year the loading dock had sunk about 15 centimeters. It became a yearly job to pour a new concrete cap on the dock. I would NOT have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes. They blame the sinking on the water table dropping.

[londonthai]

one of the mentioned articles states that 'bangkok will be under water by year 2000' - clearly it's not seven years after the predicted year and after the discovery of the global warming.

so, something has been done to prevent/slow down the sinking and new, necessary measures can be implemented.

with the reasonably new investments (like the subway system) there are measures to prevent those huge investments from being absolate in the near future.

Now, the path to my home in Bangkok was flooded the last year for some 2 months, despite being far away from the overflowing river. It was due to the government decision to flood less populated parts of bangkok (same as they did with the agricultural ang thong province up the river above ayuthaya).

dyken (like in holland for centuries) or water barriers on the river (like in London) can be build up. Maintaining khlongs, deepening them to speed up drainage water flow, building new locks on them can be easyli done with existing resources.

[jumnien]

Most scientists believe in global warming and that Bangkok will be heating up and subsequently expanding, horizontally and vertically, and that the upper surfaces of what we refer to as Bangkok will actually be rising.

[londonthai]

a source to this 'bangkok expanding vertically' nonsense. It's not an air, it's minerals - they do not change their size when heated even in high temperature.

[JetsetBkk]

one of the mentioned articles states that 'bangkok will be under water by year 2000' - clearly it's not seven years after the predicted year and after the discovery of the global warming.

so, something has been done to prevent/slow down the sinking and new, necessary measures can be implemented.

OR... the article was wrong.

[Briggsy]

You better believe Bangkok is sinking. Take a look at the old apartments on Ramkhamhaeng.

However the Thais have 2 excellent strategies. Short-termism and denial. These deal fantastically with any future problems.

Apologies for my non-civil engineering reply.

[deejah]

most of us probably were not here for the last big flood, what, 1984?

for those that were or know, how was it?

what was it like?

how did people get food and water?

just wondering about dealing with it if/when it comes again

if inconvient truth movie is right, many parts of the world will be under water in about 15 years

affecting millions if not billions of people adversely

[raro]

I made an interview with a civil engineer involved in the subway construction a couple of years ago.

Bangkok soil is made from silt and is not well compacted. Hence, anything has to be built on pillars or it will just sink into the soil. You can see that pretty well on Bang-Na Trad Highway...around the pillars the road surface is some 10 cm higher than the in between the pillars as the trucks have compacted the soil over the years.

Because of this low-density soil the subway tunnels are floating in the soil and designed to sink about 15 cm over the next 100 years without causing damage to the system as such. The subway stations again are resting on pillars driven up to 70 meters deep into the ground.

Talking about Ramkhamhaeng area, the ex's sister has a townhouse there and the roman/greek pillars holding the little balcony above the front door were tilted by some degrees...

This all has nothing to do with the tectonic sinking of Bangkok which is also happening (as I heard). This indeed would mean that the city will turn into Atlantis in the nearer or farther future...

[xyborg]

<br />I made an interview with a civil engineer involved in the subway construction a couple of years ago. <br /><br />Bangkok soil is made from silt and is not well compacted. Hence, anything has to be built on pillars or it will just sink into the soil. You can see that pretty well on Bang-Na Trad Highway...around the pillars the road surface is some 10 cm higher than the in between the pillars as the trucks have compacted the soil over the years.<br /><br />Because of this low-density soil the subway tunnels are floating in the soil and designed to sink about 15 cm over the next 100 years without causing damage to the system as such. The subway stations again are resting on pillars driven up to 70 meters deep into the ground.<br /><br />Talking about Ramkhamhaeng area, the ex's sister has a townhouse there and the roman/greek pillars holding the little balcony above the front door were tilted by some degrees...<br /><br />This all has nothing to do with the tectonic sinking of Bangkok which is also happening (as I heard). This indeed would mean that the city will turn into Atlantis in the nearer or farther future...<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Thank goodness my condos on the 20th floor!

[Thaddeus]

<br />I made an interview with a civil engineer involved in the subway construction a couple of years ago. <br /><br />Bangkok soil is made from silt and is not well compacted. Hence, anything has to be built on pillars or it will just sink into the soil. You can see that pretty well on Bang-Na Trad Highway...around the pillars the road surface is some 10 cm higher than the in between the pillars as the trucks have compacted the soil over the years.<br /><br />Because of this low-density soil the subway tunnels are floating in the soil and designed to sink about 15 cm over the next 100 years without causing damage to the system as such. The subway stations again are resting on pillars driven up to 70 meters deep into the ground.<br /><br />Talking about Ramkhamhaeng area, the ex's sister has a townhouse there and the roman/greek pillars holding the little balcony above the front door were tilted by some degrees...<br /><br />This all has nothing to do with the tectonic sinking of Bangkok which is also happening (as I heard). This indeed would mean that the city will turn into Atlantis in the nearer or farther future...<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Thank goodness my condos on the 20th floor!

At the moment, but it wouldn't surprise me if Otis and Schindler have a team standing by to change the numbered buttons in the elevator.

[Scott]

Bangkok's sinking; seas are rising. When will they meet?

Actually, there is a fair amount of work each year on raising the overall level of roads etc. I know where I live they redid the road and raised it about 1/2 a meter. Unfortunately, that means the Moo Bahn where I live, which used to be high and dry is now getting wet easier!

At least after the big quake that everyone is concerned about there will be plenty of time to raise the ground before rebuilding!

[naka]

ive heard this many times. bangkok is sinking 2-4 inches a year but there doesn't seem to be any panic about it. so what is happening exactly? will scientists figure out a way to keep the city functioning? Is there going to be a foot of water on the street?

living here 15 years ,so its sunk 30/60 inches ,and not 1 building has collapsed

Never read a newspaper or watch TV, I assume !

Probably not noticeable from Samui though.

Naka.

Edited September 24, 2007 by naka

[absolutelyBangkok]

Bangkok is definitively sinking.

I got two different kinds of piling at my house. The long, 22-23 meter long for the house. The short, 6 meter long for the garage and garden area.

The house is rock stable. The garden and garage though have been sinking about 3 inches in the last five years.

With it sinks the soi along our house. No cracks therefore inbetween the garage and the soi, but between everything that is connected to the house.

In five years the workers will come again and make the soi some inches higher.

It's reality, Bangkok sinks, but hardly anybody gets that sinking feeling. Except house-owners with different kinds of pilings.

[xyborg]

<br />Bangkok is definitively sinking.<br /><br />I got two different kinds of piling at my house. The long, 22-23 meter long for the house. The short, 6 meter long for the garage and garden area.<br /><br />The house is rock stable. The garden and garage though have been sinking about 3 inches in the last five years.<br /><br />With it sinks the soi along our house. No cracks therefore inbetween the garage and the soi, but between everything that is connected to the house.<br /><br />In five years the workers will come again and make the soi some inches higher.<br /><br />It's reality, Bangkok sinks, but hardly anybody gets that sinking feeling. Except house-owners with different kinds of pilings.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Have you got a draft under the house yet??

[Briggsy]

ive heard this many times. bangkok is sinking 2-4 inches a year but there doesn't seem to be any panic about it. so what is happening exactly? will scientists figure out a way to keep the city functioning? Is there going to be a foot of water on the street?

living here 15 years ,so its sunk 30/60 inches ,and not 1 building has collapsed

A whole row of terraced houses collapsed in Rangsit about 4 years ago.

Tower blocks will not collapse as they have very deep pilings.

[TAWP]

One of our bigger houses has huge cracks going one wall and all the way up to the third floor. All the houses are 'settling', but this is extreme. And several houses around has the same things. Parts of houses can be slightly tilting, for instance having 2/3 of a house fairly aligned then the 1/3 sinking faster, ending up with a slooped look...and huge cracks in the walls.

One of those things...

[lopburi3]

Most Bangkok water is now from the river rather than from underground. Do not believe new wells have been allowed for over 20 years and most housing estates have switched to city water. Flooding has become very uncommon (used to happen every year) and even the 125mm of rain in Bangkok about a week ago did not last more than a day. Although there is fear of rising ocean levels in the future; at present things seem to be under control although there is no denying the surface is sinking where not supported by pilings.

As for what happened in 1984 the Army was called on to provide transportation and there trucks were high enough to get through the water in most areas. If higher New Orleans comes to mind. But most homes in Thailand are still built of cement, or raised, so flooding is not the disaster that you find when construction is gypsum board. Life goes on.

[londonthai]

At least after the big quake that everyone is concerned about there will be plenty of time to raise the ground before rebuilding!

there never was one in bangkok which would demage houses. What's the chanses of this happening in the future?

[lopburi3]

There appears to be serious concern - although we are not on the ring of fire it would not take much to start the 'jello' bowl mud of Bangkok moving. I suspect a severe lateral movement would snap many of the support piles like toothpicks. Don't want to imagine what would happen above ground.

[AlexLah]

Friend of me wanted to buy a townhouse so she asked me to come along and have a look at it as I have been building houses before.

So we went to this compound and arrived at the house.

Yep inside it did not look to bad but when walking a bit outside I could not get rid of the feeling that these houses must have been there at least ten years.

A lot of houses that showed sinking as much as 50 cm.

Cracks in walls you name it.

So I asked how old these houses were.

3 years only, the answer was.

So I told my friend not to buy as I expected that within 5 years the whole place will just collapse and that is why the owner wants to sell so cheap.

Reply from friend: No why you talk like that, you not know about Thai house this good house look nice inside also they give furniture for free.

Up to you I replied.....I know better ways to loose your money.

[FarangNoi21]

those people probably just forgot to have the monk come and bless it