Thailand's Capital Bangkok Is Sinking

[trogers]

Oh nonsense!

Just make it the "Venice of the Orient".

Think what that would do for tourism!

Residences in Sukhumvit, a 100 years from now.

[zzaa09]

Oh nonsense!

Just make it the "Venice of the Orient".

Think what that would do for tourism!

Residences in Sukhumvit, a 100 years from now.

Yes. I guess there could be an upside to this terminal diagnosis. Just turn the immediate delta into a water-themed park and existence. Spawning more boating/floating {of every sort} production and the offshoots that might be born.

[rubl]

Oh nonsense!

Just make it the "Venice of the Orient".

Think what that would do for tourism!

Plus a 'Thames Barrier' or Venice 'MOSE project' to keep your feet dry.

[stingray]

How many of us will be around in a century to care?

Next story please

Green partie members and panic makers, they do. They forgot that they have to die some day.

[stingray]

Oh nonsense!

Just make it the "Venice of the Orient".

Think what that would do for tourism!

Residences in Sukhumvit, a 100 years from now.

Not like that. The water would be dark brown colored, not azur blue.

[trogers]

Oh nonsense!

Just make it the "Venice of the Orient".

Think what that would do for tourism!

Residences in Sukhumvit, a 100 years from now.

Not like that. The water would be dark brown colored, not azur blue.

Who knows a 100 years into the future? Bangkok would have been partial submerged before that and a couple of tsunamis could have hit the city relocating large parts of the capital. Singapore had just been hit 3 times in the last couple of months by 50-year floods.

[londonthai]

there was a proposal to pump the ground water down to replace water lost through the deep wells.

somehow I am optimistic about the future of bangkok - if multinational corporations do invest in the metro system, skyscrapers and motorways than surely they know their investment is safe.

the life span of most of the housing in bangkok is shorter than in europe, because of it's poor quality, so not huge loss. But value of the land is high, and there won't be any buyers

Edited July 26, 2010 by londonthai

[rubl]

there was a proposal to pump the ground water down to replace water lost through the deep wells.

somehow I am optimistic about the future of bangkok - if multinational corporations do invest in the metro system, skyscrapers and motorways than surely they know their investment is safe.

the life span of most of the housing in bangkok is shorter than in europe, because of it's poor quality, so not huge loss. But value of the land is high, and there won't be any buyers

If ground layers have been compressed due to extraction of water, this cannot be undone. The composition somehow changes and especially peat layers may oxidize.

[tso310]

Too many farangs in Bangkok. Obvious really.Get rid of them all and Bangkok will probably float into space.

[richard10365]

What is a disaster for Bangkok is a plus for other cities. Where will the population go in the next 100 years? How soon before investors stop pumping money into projects in Bangkok and start considering other cities in Thailand such as Chiang Mai? (CNX-Wood) Where will the next big sea port be in Thailand? Clearly, the wealth in Bangkok will be spreading to other parts of the country as this event unfolds. Land prices in other areas will go up while land prices in Bangkok go down. How soon before this starts to happen? While we might not be here in a hundred years to see the result of Bangkok sinking into the sea, it is possible for us to see life change in Bangkok prior to this happening.

[Tanaka]

The change is fairly gradual; the city will have to adapt -- some parts of the Netherlands are meters below sea level and are perfectly viable.

The problem is that the Netherlands has spent countless billions of dollars on massive sea defences and inland dykes and raised canals. Where is Thailand going to get that sort of money?

Start with Thaksin's stolen money.

But surely this is all because of Global Warming, isn't it? Well, I'm sure that JR (and his many nom de plumes) would have us believe that that is the case!

It may be, but 30 years ago the theory was the sinking was due in large part to the klongs having mostly been turned into highways. I'm not sure why, but I do recall reading that. Before then, I believe Bangkok was sometimes called the Venice of the East.