Residents In 29 Provinces Nationwide Warned Of Flashfloods And Inundation During May 22-25

[reallyok]

Spoke to my friend in Bangkok earlier - he said it's HOT and WET. This seems like an annual problem in Thailand. Is anything done? Or just money to fix the problem ends up in someone's pocket? My sympathy to anybody flooded out of home - we have the same problem in SE Queensland now.

Peter

Too right Peter, i have been trapped on my property at Rocksberg, Upper Caboolture for 3 days. Worst i have seen in past 25 yrs. We have had 3rd of the annual rainfall in one day.

I have got visitors from UK flying out to Singapore tonight where they will get more rain. By the time i get back to Samui at the end of the year, it will be heavy rain again.

[reallyok]

Spoke to my friend in Bangkok earlier - he said it's HOT and WET. This seems like an annual problem in Thailand. Is anything done? Or just money to fix the problem ends up in someone's pocket? My sympathy to anybody flooded out of home - we have the same problem in SE Queensland now.

Peter

Come one, what on earth could money do to fix this problem?! How about you come up with a solution before claiming that there is money paid for some mystical thing to stop the rain, money may fix this problem in lalaland but not in the real world.

OH COME ON !...........Try to use your brain and think 'outside the circle' I am sure that Peter means money for flood mitigation, not money to stop the rain...........Duhhhhhhhhhhh

I seem to remember reading somewhere that over 30% of Bangkok is already below sea level, so it's actually quite an acievement to keep Bangkok as dry as it is! Roll on global warming and a tad of sea level rise! Bangkok won't be alone in trouble then - London for one will be in deep .... I mean water.

Chris

There is cities all over the world that are below sea level... what you got to take into consideration here is displacement of water... should the sea level "rise" then it will take up more land, more land means more area for the water to go, which again means much less raising of the sea level then you'd think. Example, if the ocean rises by a meter, you would have to put a meter of water on top of the entire ocean, plus the entire surface bordering the ocean that is below that mark... even with all the ice melting, every river emptying itself, every lake being emptied out and every cloud putting it's water in as well, it would be simply impossible as it is not enough water to do that. If this would/could really happen, it would never reach London as there is Land between the ocean and London that is higher than a meter above sea level.

[moe666]

Someone in the government has to be on the take allowing mother-nature to have her way with Thailand and we all know it is another nail in the coffin of Thai tourism.

[larry78750]

I'm just concerned about those pictures of Chiang Mai! I live in the neighborhood across from the Gymkana Golf Course.....my landlord never mentioned that flood 5 years ago.....(and she lives next door!)

I guess I should store drinking water and other supplies in case that mess happens again!

[Buang]

I am on the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia at the moment and it is the smae here. Let's hope these warnings for Thailand are just precautionary and not nessecary.

[brahmburgers]

....just found an old pic of sukhumvit 30 years ago

Pic looks a lot older than 1979.

As for infrastructure: Wet seasons have come every year - since way before man came plodding along wrapped in swaddling cloth. However, each deluge seems like the first time ever, according to inundated communities. How about:

(keeping in mind, that; water flows downhill)

A. build buildings on high patches of land. If there are no hills, then don't build there.

B. houses on stilts are ok, but water can, on occasion, rise higher than stilts.

C. build ditches to convey water away from places where people congregate. Same for culverts (for Thais reading this: culverts are pre-manufactured large pipes that get placed under roads at strategic places, in order to facilitate drainage of water.)

D. If a city (i.e. Bangkok) is already established in a region which is below sea lever, sinking, has a flood-prone river running through it, and alongside a bight which has high tides ......then start considering moving the city to higher ground.

I'll start Thailand's first-ever rent-a-truck company, as soon as I get some seed money. Maybe add some rent-a-rafts to the Bangkok outlet.

[ScubaBuddha]

Just in time for Phukets new "Summer Season" re-branding campaign!! lol

[Diablo Bob]

I'm just concerned about those pictures of Chiang Mai! I live in the neighborhood across from the Gymkana Golf Course.....my landlord never mentioned that flood 5 years ago.....(and she lives next door!)

I guess I should store drinking water and other supplies in case that mess happens again!

The flood on Tapai Rd....... 3 Hours after water crested the Ping River.

[teachermark]

Someone in the government has to be on the take allowing mother-nature to have her way with Thailand and we all know it is another nail in the coffin of Thai tourism.

How True, How true! How dare they? Control the weather? .. why every other "civilised" country does so .. don't they?"

C'mon "powers that be" .. crank up the ACME weather machine and fix this problem !!

[robertsonmartin]

There is cities all over the world that are below sea level... what you got to take into consideration here is displacement of water... should the sea level "rise" then it will take up more land, more land means more area for the water to go, which again means much less raising of the sea level then you'd think. Example, if the ocean rises by a meter, you would have to put a meter of water on top of the entire ocean, plus the entire surface bordering the ocean that is below that mark... even with all the ice melting, every river emptying itself, every lake being emptied out and every cloud putting it's water in as well, it would be simply impossible as it is not enough water to do that. If this would/could really happen, it would never reach London as there is Land between the ocean and London that is higher than a meter above sea level.

You think impossible?

Last I heard, Rivers don't go over hills.

The river Thames, has had so much land reclaimed from it over the last centuries it wouldn't take a huge amount of sea-level rise to flood many areas along the river in central london. Why do you think the entrance to the Thames has flood prevention barrages ?!?

[exexpat]

I've been told Jakarta is worse off than Bangkok, they have some very bad floods in 2007. Either way, the more high rises they build over the canals and swamps they call Bangkok the more the land compacts during dry spells, the land more or less permanently lowers, and doesn't fully rebound after rains. The airport also is a swamp, an elevated aqueduct has been built to pump out the water there.

[DoctorD]

Peter

It used to be much much worse. The water would be thigh deep over huge areas of Bangkok.

Amen. I lived in Saphan Kwai in the mid 1980s. Sutthisarn road and Phanonyothin Soi 12, where we lived, were half a meter of water for more than three days one June. I have pictures of us all wading.

Despite what people might think, the traffic is much improved now, also. Bangkok will always have infrastructure problems, but let's give credit where credit is due.

[prepress]

Flooding in Bkk is in my opinion manmade.

If you seal all places with concrete and asphalt, more water has to find fewer spots to drain. With some debris in the sewage it is soon blocked.

[helloall]

if you oook at any satellite weather image you will see a very deep low halfway between india and burma. I t will be here soon, that is what the warning is about. typhoon narghis type weather but supposed to track lower than rangoon this time

[TVmonitor]

Why is it that the Thai news and weather always talk of "floods and inundation" when they are one and the same?

[koto]

Hi

I went to visit someone in Patthanakan Soi 65 yesterday and when it started pissing, within 5 minutes (no joke!!) every single road in the area was about 10-15cm's deep flooded. He explained to me it's every time like that as soon as it rains, the water comes up from the drains instead of going down into them. There you REALLY need a boat.

Regards.....

Thanh

PS i still remember going home one evening last year, through Sukhumvit... where the water reached the cylinder head of my motorbike and when it finally stalled with the carb full of water it was well over knee deep. Never seen it worse than that day. But the road was so free! Only the right-most lane was packed with stalled cars....... and a few were scattered around, having floated off when it got too deep. I made it home after draining the carb twice, with the gear box full of water.

Some of the areas that flood also have storm drains, If we got on City Halls Butt, about cleaning out the toxic plugged up waste, so that it does not back up into our homes, or does not flush into our sea foods home, Ocean,They always seem to wait till the fat lady sings, Then it's to late, except to say that the storm drains were plugged up, I find also the far and few times that the pump trucks, pump out the toxic waste, they are sometimes seen pumping it into our sea foods home, Ocean, Don't wait for your neighbor to bitch to City Hall, stand up and say something, Go take a look at a heavy foot traffic area that has storm drains close by, take a good look at what our fish live in, or what is going to back up into our srteets, homes, shops, beach, parks, It is up to us to what kind of world we want to wake up to each day.

[siamjj]

Someone in the government has to be on the take allowing mother-nature to have her way with Thailand and we all know it is another nail in the coffin of Thai tourism.

to funny moe,best humor on here in a long time,better than all the bellyacking,lol,lol.

[brahmburgers]

Why is it that the Thai news and weather always talk of "floods and inundation" when they are one and the same?

I don't know about Thai media, but I know Bkk Post, every time they mention a water well, they call it an 'artesian well.' Their writers need to realize that artesian wells are very rare. It's a well in which the water comes out the top by natural forces, without mechanical aid.

Hi

.......take a good look at what our fish live in, or what is going to back up into our streets, homes, shops, beach, parks, It is up to us to what kind of world we want to wake up to each day.

You touch on a serious point. Dust from asbestos brakes, dirty oil from an oil changes, residue from bug sprays, pharmaceuticals in urine, and a myriad of other chemicals - most eventually go down the drain and in to rivers, sea or soil.

Long ago I stopped eating shellfish. Think about it: how do shellfish grow? Answer: by sifting through and ingesting whatever is in the water. Where, pray tell, is there clean water? Doubtful anywhere along Thailand's coasts. Shrimp come from the same soup. More recently, I stopped eating fish for similar reasons. Whether grown in the sea or grown in fresh water, there is simple no clean water environment anywhere in SE Asia. Rivers vary in color from dark brown to light brown - with visibility bordering on about 1 to 4 feet. In contrast, Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada, has visibility of hundreds of feet, and so do its tributary rivers. I know, because I used to swim there. Without goggles, I could see a small fish a hundred feet away underwater. In any Thai waters, you'd be lucky to see a fish 3 feet away, while you're wearing goggles.

Along any stretch of Thai seacoast, there's trash, both on the beach and in the water. One thimblefull of oil from an oil change can contaminate thousands of liters of water. That's just one tiny part of the sad equation.

Edited May 23, 2009 by brahmburgers

[Sandstone Art]

Is it the work of the present govt to 'make rain' and drench those poor innocent red shirt gathering at their rallies again?

Sounds rather bad that this advance infos will dampen their spirits!

I hope this subject will not be linked to Khun Thaksin

Why you try to make every topic about Mr Thaksin ?

We know that you are a supporter of Mr Thaksin.

Let him have his retirement days in Liberia.

I couldn't help but burst out laughing....then silly me, I misread your post without my specs on!

I thought you wrote "Let him have his retirement days with Lydia"

Wonder how will the EX Mrs T feel?

..........

BTW, last evening in ChiangMai city area, there appear to be strong wind blowing with some hint of rain approaching. But it was a false alarm.

[TGM]

We have this place in the valleys of Chiang Rai and every year the creek that runs through our land turns into a mad cow and tree ripping river...thats the way it is and will be. If we ever get fed up with it, we'll move or something.

[rogerman]

We seem to have missed the rain here in Nonthaburi for the past few. Everything is starting to dry out again after a couple days of light rain/ drizzle. Some decent rain will be more than welcome here and especially in Samut Sakhon where I have a 5Rai block of orchid nursery (I have one in Nonthaburi as well). The water dams that I have are never full enough to my liking.

[johnefallis]

This is what happened to us in Chiang Mai 2005.

I took these photos at my parents in law home near Chiang Mai railway station and at my home in Hang Dong.

Haha, he said "hang dong"

[NamSod]

When a lot of water comes, no matter where it is, it will have its affects... Nature's way.

you dont bloody say...twit!

Wow.. some one needs to re-read the chapter on 'How to behave in public'.

[Imkah]

About not eating sea-food in fear of contamination: Very well, - as long as you stay away from contaminators such as beef etc. A meager 120g beef steak will leave a footprint of over 3kg of carbon! If you haven't turned vegetarian I suggest you stick to the occasional "run" at the Hong nam, as a way to reduce the green-house effect. A "khao thom khrung a day keeps the nam tuam away" as they say here in the S/E part of Bangkog.

[robbo1]

any rain yet have house in loei can get the inlaws to start sandbagging if its coming ha ha inlaws work dont think so.

Seriously any rain yet

[ardsong]

there is an old tradional building style in the north of thailand, house on piles, about 3 meter above ground level. {advantages: house dry in flooding, less creepy animals in the house, when dry and hot sunshine it give a nice cool place to spend the day with mostly a nice breeze, give some exercise going up the stairs}

bangkok people should learn this from people up north, than they will have a dry house in the Bangkok rain.

and as someone made a remark, rain is still to come, September, October used to be the worst month in BKK for flooding.

[teachermark]

When a lot of water comes, no matter where it is, it will have its affects... Nature's way.

you dont bloody say...twit!

Wow.. some one needs to re-read the chapter on 'How to behave in public'.

How to behave in public rule number 1

"Don't be rude to morons" .. they can't help it and they deserve our pity.

[teachermark]

If you haven't turned vegetarian I suggest you stick to the occasional "run" at the Hong nam

I always have a laugh when I remember the Aussie Chef .. who just opened up a "Steak House" .. being interviewed by a TV reporter .. was asked "Do you have anything for vegetarians?" .. his reply .."Yes. Contempt"

[koto]

Why is it that the Thai news and weather always talk of "floods and inundation" when they are one and the same?

I don't know about Thai media, but I know Bkk Post, every time they mention a water well, they call it an 'artesian well.' Their writers need to realize that artesian wells are very rare. It's a well in which the water comes out the top by natural forces, without mechanical aid.

Hi

.......take a good look at what our fish live in, or what is going to back up into our streets, homes, shops, beach, parks, It is up to us to what kind of world we want to wake up to each day.

Aloha

We could all make a difference if we would "ALL" email, call, write, talk, to the powers in our Area or Local TV, Radio, News Papers, To start the clean up by Stenciling Storm Drains that are Full of Toxic Waste, Heavy Foot Traffic Areas, Shopping Centers, 7/11, "Beer Bars", Beach, Parks, Markets, Lakes, Streams, Rivers, Take a good look into some of these STORM DRAINS, see what will back up into our Streets, Homes and go into our Natural Waterways be it our "Drinking Water" or where the Fish We Eat, Live, Smell the Aroma of Toxic Waste, take a stand and do something, we all need to Walk the Walk, People hear what we say, But see what we do, JUSTDO IT! CARPE-DIEM, MAHALO, THANK YOU, BECOME A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS

CHILDREN, WILDLIFE AND WATERWAYS, THE REWARDS ARE PRICELESS

http://solutions2pollution.blogspot.com

You touch on a serious point. Dust from asbestos brakes, dirty oil from an oil changes, residue from bug sprays, pharmaceuticals in urine, and a myriad of other chemicals - most eventually go down the drain and in to rivers, sea or soil.

Long ago I stopped eating shellfish. Think about it: how do shellfish grow? Answer: by sifting through and ingesting whatever is in the water. Where, pray tell, is there clean water? Doubtful anywhere along Thailand's coasts. Shrimp come from the same soup. More recently, I stopped eating fish for similar reasons. Whether grown in the sea or grown in fresh water, there is simple no clean water environment anywhere in SE Asia. Rivers vary in color from dark brown to light brown - with visibility bordering on about 1 to 4 feet. In contrast, Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada, has visibility of hundreds of feet, and so do its tributary rivers. I know, because I used to swim there. Without goggles, I could see a small fish a hundred feet away underwater. In any Thai waters, you'd be lucky to see a fish 3 feet away, while you're wearing goggles.

Along any stretch of Thai seacoast, there's trash, both on the beach and in the water. One thimblefull of oil from an oil change can contaminate thousands of liters of water. That's just one tiny part of the sad equation.