Samui Declared Disaster Zone After Heavy Rain

[churchill]

The more they cut down trees and build resorts and houses and walls the worse it will get.

Where do you suggest people stay and live ?- I agree that a lot of the existing houses and planning is awful - but with new deveoplment and proper controls maybe things can be improved ?

[Samuian]

Samui is applying for City Status , which woulds mean more funds for roads , drainage etc - instead of money going to build fantastic roads in Surat Thani , we should get a few miles in Samui that don't break up after a month of being repaired . With hopefully more thought to environmental issues , and so improving Samui as a tourist destination . I hope that the people in charge , the new mayor ? , learn from this years problems and work to improve things in the future ?? !

Many people concerned are very upset - this will apply enough pressure - this can't go n - many people agree.

How does Macro, BigC, and Tesco secure their supplies?

Not to mention everything and everyone else involved int the rat-race!

I wonder when we will see the Navy or Army moving for disaster control...?

[Lite Beer]

The more they cut down trees and build resorts and houses and walls the worse it will get.

Where do you suggest people stay and live ?- I agree that a lot of the existing houses and planning is awful - but with new deveoplment and proper controls maybe things can be improved ?

A bit late now I think

Samui is a small island with a lot of rain every year. The water has to go somewhere.

[LaoPo]

Actually, the last I heard Samui is going to have a referendum on applying for city status.

That, at least, is good news for their own financial controls, management and -water management- investments.

Would that include Koh Phangan and Koh Tao ?

LaoPo

[speedways]

is the rain and flooding confined to samui or is it similar in other parts of the south

anyone know please

[sbk]

Surat Thani is flooded in many places, and from what I gather from the Thai news, several areas are completely cut off. I imagine it covers the entire south, and there will be flooding in low-lying places.

[sbk]

Actually, the last I heard Samui is going to have a referendum on applying for city status.

That, at least, is good news for their own financial controls, management and -water management- investments.

Would that include Koh Phangan and Koh Tao ?

LaoPo

From the Samui express report I read, Phangan and Tao were not mentioned and there hasn't been any local talk that I have heard about it. So, I don't know.

But it would be a nightmare for the two islands to be excluded and sheer foolishness on the part of Samui to do so.

[hewi150]

well ... I have been arround the island today.

None of the floodings in Bophut, Maenam, Lamai or Chaweng are natural !

If you put concrete each and everywhere, cut down the trees on the mountains and seal the surface wherever you can without any kind of working draining system, then it is not at all an surprise that you get floodings.

Yesterday evening in front of BIG C the waterlevel reached 60cm plus ... well, you can guess why (or do you think that Big C has a real draining system for the whole area ? (just like the shops accross the street which are 100% sealed and "drain" (like most houses) on the roads)

Bophut:

Left side and right side of the road, everything is sealed with concrete ... everything "drains" on the main road where a "working" draining system is not available.

Maenam:

s.o. ... same story as Bophut.

Fishermans Village ... now, that's (not really) funny but no words on this as it is way to obvious why it's flooded.

Lamai ... like the other places ... much concrete, no draining system.

Chaweng ... same same.

The rain is defenitely not as much as 2005 but the big difference is that now we have way more concrete and houses along the roads and huge parts of the trees on the mountains are cut off to get space for some nice villas (well ... if the owners come early they can even reach the nice villas and stay there untill they can come down again.)

It is a DESASTER ... that's true.

But it is pretty much homemade.

As long as there are no regulations on draining systems for houses and as long as the government only tries to "fix" the draining system, it will get worse.

The people who actually "cause" the floodings will now complain about the Governement for missing draining systems ... funny isn't it ?

I will post some adventure pictures from today a bit later.

[Tony121]

I think that TAT could turn this into a positive, come visit the floating market in lam daen, white water raft down chaweng high road , dive in Maenam and see the ring road !

[buzz]

I don't think a referendum is required - as soon as you reach 50,000 residents it's automatic as far as i know ... one of our local 'rags' reported a few months ago that Samui only needed another few hundred to reach the magic 50,000.

They did do quite a bit of drainage works update in the Lamai area in the past year ... they have also been slowly repairing sections of damaged concrete ring-road from Lamai to Nathon (don't know about other areas) - but i did notice that some of the repaired sections had already broken-up in places again before i left last monday after the recent heavy rains of the previous 3 weeks.

We need city-status for sure ... but ARE the locals capable of doing the right thing once they get the reins ? who bloody knows ... (look at how the mafia familys run the 'taxi-meter' scam - this one pisses me off the most as a tourist business owner)

Don't forget it is an island in the tropics and some years it will just bucket down and floods will happen no matter what - some years are dry and we have to buy water ... go figure ... plus, local bureaucrats are not of 1st world level by far ... you just gotta live by it ... that's how it is...

[lazeeboy]

the damage it is causing is unbelievable ..........

This is normal so what is the big story?

Ah, ignorance is bliss eh? Considering this happened (in this severity) previously two years ago and prior to that around twenty years ago is hardly what i would call 'Normal' Two years ago the damage was caused was over 300 million baht and the currents floods are considered worse. Given that Ko samui is a small part of Suratthani province and receives very little in funding in proportion to the amount of money samui brings in, maybe that is the big story. Or the fact that thousands of tourists are stranded and hundreds of shops and homes are flooded.

Normal?

thanks for that post ,this flood has /is going to cost me a lot of money with the damage to my business and my home ,as it will effect almost all expats living and doing business here ,the last flood in 2005 cost me more than a million in repairs and replacement belongings

[naomisri]

well ... I have been arround the island today.

None of the floodings in Bophut, Maenam, Lamai or Chaweng are natural !

If you put concrete each and everywhere, cut down the trees on the mountains and seal the surface wherever you can without any kind of working draining system, then it is not at all an surprise that you get floodings.

Yesterday evening in front of BIG C the waterlevel reached 60cm plus ... well, you can guess why (or do you think that Big C has a real draining system for the whole area ? (just like the shops accross the street which are 100% sealed and "drain" (like most houses) on the roads)

Bophut:

Left side and right side of the road, everything is sealed with concrete ... everything "drains" on the main road where a "working" draining system is not available.

Maenam:

s.o. ... same story as Bophut.

Fishermans Village ... now, that's (not really) funny but no words on this as it is way to obvious why it's flooded.

Lamai ... like the other places ... much concrete, no draining system.

Chaweng ... same same.

The rain is defenitely not as much as 2005 but the big difference is that now we have way more concrete and houses along the roads and huge parts of the trees on the mountains are cut off to get space for some nice villas (well ... if the owners come early they can even reach the nice villas and stay there untill they can come down again.)

It is a DESASTER ... that's true.

But it is pretty much homemade.

As long as there are no regulations on draining systems for houses and as long as the government only tries to "fix" the draining system, it will get worse.

The people who actually "cause" the floodings will now complain about the Governement for missing draining systems ... funny isn't it ?

I will post some adventure pictures from today a bit later.

This is exactly it - precisely that the owners of the land (in particular a few governmental officials I can think of) want to get the value out of their land. In Chaweng the problem is that much like Suvarnabhummi a lot of it used to be marshland (husband reckons laem din means where the rivers run to the sea), including several areas that are now extremely built up, have markets on or just tons of dirt thrown on top in preparation for getting what cash they can out of it. Each successive project builds a higher foundation than the last and sooner or later there is nowhere for the water to go. It is highly unlikely that there will be any dramatic changes of the layout in Chaweng as most of it is owned by connected Samui families who wouldn't think about demolishing their properties just to put in new public drainage systems. I can't see how they're going to work it out...

I think that TAT could turn this into a positive, come visit the floating market in lam daen, white water raft down chaweng high road , dive in Maenam and see the ring road !

Just as an aside though, right now the flooding on the main road between Lamai and Big C seems to be pretty localized and has eased a lot since last night - it's passable and no roads are broken as someone suggested. There is some sand in the road though.

[Johpa]

I wonder when we will see the Navy or Army moving for disaster control...?

Flooding in flat land areas of Thailand!?! Tell me it is not so. Or did someone fail to notice that the land behind the beach at Chaweng was a large depression with some year round water swamps where there was little habitation apart from a few huts raised on stilts?

I am certain the mighty HTMS Chakri Naruebet is sailing to the rescue of those who built upon the floodplain behind Chaweng beach as we speak!

Chaiyo

[ClaudeFeller]

To avoid confusion:

This kind of flooding has nothing to do with concrete buildings and cutting trees:

When you have 200-400 mm of rain falling down the soil is reacting like a concrete area, like a sponge completly full of water:

The rainwater is running off without any retention.

The problems and the disaster is due to the fact that the rainwater cannot run off and reach the sea.

Therefor the main problem is the lack of drainage all over Samui.

Thsi will not be solved in the near future because there is an enormous lack of knowledge and of mainpower in Samui

[Chayaphum]

To avoid confusion: This kind of flooding has nothing to do with concrete buildings and cutting trees: When you have 200-400 mm of rain falling down the soil is reacting like a concrete area, like a sponge completly full of water: The rainwater is running off without any retention. The problems and the disaster is due to the fact that the rainwater cannot run off and reach the sea. Therefor the main problem is the lack of drainage all over Samui. Thsi will not be solved in the near future because there is an enormous lack of knowledge and of mainpower in Samui

100% right!!! "ClaudeFeller" everywhere in the world is the same problem.

"there is an enormous lack of knowledge and of mainpower in Samui"

that's the problem nr.1, it looks as nobody want to learn from the past, na sia dai.

"Som nam na Samui" nothing will change in the next 10 years...of course

Chayaphum

[hewi150]

To avoid confusion:

This kind of flooding has nothing to do with concrete buildings and cutting trees:

When you have 200-400 mm of rain falling down the soil is reacting like a concrete area, like a sponge completly full of water:

The rainwater is running off without any retention.

The problems and the disaster is due to the fact that the rainwater cannot run off and reach the sea.

Therefor the main problem is the lack of drainage all over Samui.

Thsi will not be solved in the near future because there is an enormous lack of knowledge and of mainpower in Samui

well ... an obvious and many times used excuse which is sadly completely wrong (but sounds good for everybody who has no idea about engineering or enviromental issues and simply refuses (or does not want or like to hear) how things really are.

Go and look arround on Samui, look WHERE the main areas for floodings are, look at the surroundings ... and then decide for yourself if you want to believe what you write (or make others believe it)

[Tony121]

I think you will find that cutting the trees down has a lot to do with once the vegitation is cleared the sand is washed into the drains blocking them, this is visible all over the island

[Joe Walshe]

Curiouse to know how flooding effects the airport. It would be unusual for a runway to be flooded as the flooding would seriously undermine the structural stability of the runway itself.

[lazeeboy]

Curiouse to know how flooding effects the airport. It would be unusual for a runway to be flooded as the flooding would seriously undermine the structural stability of the runway itself.

the airports built on a swamp .........

[brahmburgers]

I've been to Hat Yai twice in two year intervals and both times they were tearing out old drainage culverts and putting new ones in. In my town of Chiang Rai, it took them three tries in two year period to finally get it right. Each of the first tow pipe layments were dug up removed and replaced. Rule #1 of Engineering 101: water don't run uphill.

I thought to bring a straight level down to donate to the local engineering boss, but I think he's comfortable with his plastic water-filled tube level - which isn't bad, as long as one knows how to use it.

[Tony Clifton]

Most drainage systems here are full of debris and plastic bags.

Good luck.

[PoorSucker]

I don't think a referendum is required - as soon as you reach 50,000 residents it's automatic as far as i know ... one of our local 'rags' reported a few months ago that Samui only needed another few hundred to reach the magic 50,000.

Not automatic because how many is it per sqm?

[curber]

This type of results after torrential rain is not limited to Thailand...a lot of coastal resort cities have the same problems....I have been in Honolulu and sat in a downtown bar with water running thru it...Cancun same thing....there is just no place to send the water ...a lot of the buildings are below sea level...the problem is certainly compounded by hindering the natural drainage by sealing the ground with concrete,asphalt etc...but the fact remains development creates a lot of problems even with good planning...something that is lacking in most countries like thailand...we tend to develop the easiest and cheapest places first...usually on a flood plain...these areas are not named for their ability to handle large volumes of water..but it is cheaper to build on them as the land is flatter with very little rock...I don`t think any drainage system will totally stop flooding on Samui...it can certainly be improved and future development regulated properly would help...but TIT so get used to it

[southwest19]

I think you will find that cutting the trees down has a lot to do with once the vegitation is cleared the sand is washed into the drains blocking them, this is visible all over the island

Lets just put into context here we are hardly talking deforestation to the scale of Bangladesh here. Probably 1% of all trees in the hills have been cut down to make way for development, there has always been a run off of water from the hills to low lying areas since the last ice age it is called gravity.

The difference now is the development in previous flood plains which have now blocked the natural passage of the water i.e. Big C, Samui Town Centre and the new hotels in Bophut on the ring road etc these act like dams and coupled with the lack of an adequate drainage system the roads get flooded as there is no where for the water to go.

We may have had a chance if all the money promised by Surat Thani two years ago had actually arrived.

When we get extreme weather conditions you normally do have problems but bearing in mind this is supposedly a tourist island and the amount of money raised here in taxes the state of the public infrastructure is a disgrace.

[1Rai.com]

I work in the IT Complex, live in Bon Gai (Bandon Hospital road). Coming home from work yesterday was very bad; I came into Chaweng at the south end of beach road as I knew the ring road past the PTT and the police station was a no-go, cut through Soi Haad Ngam to Laem Din market, then traversed the 50cm of water through Soi Reggae, crossed the road across the lake, came out at the lake road (which was as usual impassable) and went through the temple road to Bon Gai.

Still, no section of the Lamai-Chaweng Road had collapsed as previous posts say and the flooding 2 years ago was, I believe, worse than the flooding now. However, this weather is reported to continue until next Wedsnesday.

I'm pretty sure that Samui has reached the 50,000 mark now (read it somewhere - as of August or something); and steps are being made to separate Samui from the rest of Surat Thani. It's anyone's guess how long Surat will take to relinquish their grip on our tax revenue though - I'm sure they will slow it down as much as they can.

[SamuiRes]

I don't think a referendum is required - as soon as you reach 50,000 residents it's automatic as far as i know ... one of our local 'rags' reported a few months ago that Samui only needed another few hundred to reach the magic 50,000.

Not automatic because how many is it per sqm?

To qualify for city status a municipality needs to have a population of at least 50,000 and a population density of 3,000 per square kilometre.

Samui has nowhere near that density. I believe what they may now be talking about is a Special Economic Zone similar to Pattaya which would include Koh Phangan and Koh Tao - or they will have to bend the rules to ignore the density requirement which, this being Thailand, is extremely possible. However, who believes the Surat Thani authorities are going to let go of control without a fight?

[koheesti]

The more they cut down trees and build resorts and houses and walls the worse it will get.

Where do you suggest people stay and live ?- I agree that a lot of the existing houses and planning is awful - but with new deveoplment and proper controls maybe things can be improved ?

Bangrak beach road is fine. There's a loss of power every now and then but the water never gathers enough to cover both sides of the road.

[naomisri]

1Rai

Not sure what time you went home last night, but around 6-7ish the main Chaweng Road was extremely passable, far more than the night before. We went to Big C from Lamai and had no problems whatsoever.

[highdiver]

every year the same...nothing has changed.

every year the monsoon comes. every year it floods.

every year the new residents are shocked by the floding.

every year the same arguments from TV members who know better how to solve the problem...

every year the same complaints about land erosion, over development, construction controll...

every year the same "surprise" when the airport closes down.

it will be the same in future years...because.... when 200mm of rain downpour in leass then 24 hours and it goes on for 2 weeks. it floods. ans it does not matter how many drains you put in it will still flood.

Los Angeles has a huge drain system to drain the floods in the LA river but when it rains so heavily they too have floods.

when you live in the route of a monsoon it will happen. some years less some years more but it will allways happen.

you can allways take comfort that the garden looks great

have a look at posts from 2004

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=21130

and posts drom 2005

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=51361

[sbk]

Actually, highdiver, no complaints from last year about flooding, mainly because it didn't rain! However, you will then find subsequent posts about drought, so there you go. Take your pick, flood or drought?