Agency Needed To Deal With Sinking Bangkok

[manarak]

In some areas, the Dutch used land fill to bring the land above sea level.

Wouldn't that be relatively easy for Thailand to do?

Only if there is nothing currently built on the land, bit difficult to jack up a tall building and shovel some dirt under it.

No, but bringing street level up is possible.

Buildings would have to change their floor plan and reassign the second floor to be the lobby - it is feasible.

[CHFarang]

It actually is sinking 2 - 5 cm a year as reported also on cnn:

A report published by the United Nations' IRIN magazine today says that flooding in Bangkok is likely to get so severe by the middle of this century that parts of the Thai capital may have to be abandoned.

"Subsidence and poor urban planning have resulted in Bangkok gradually sinking between 2cm and 5cm a year," the report quotes researchers in Thailand.

It's well known by city residents that Bangkok is sinking, with experts first documenting the problem in the early 1980s. But now scientists say there are added factors that are fast-tracking the city's immersion.

"For decades we have known that the city was sinking because of sediment compression, but recent research has shown that the crust of the earth itself is also depressing here, caused by tectonic events that are totally outside our control. It is a combination of factors," Anond Snidvongs, the Southeast Asia regional research director for multi-national non-governmental agency START, says in the report.

"Much of the problem was caused by water for industry being extracted from underground aquifers faster than it could be replaced, causing the soil to compress," IRIN explained. "Another issue is that many of Bangkok's canals, which once drew comparisons with those of Venice, have been concreted over and turned into roads, while houses and factories have been built on the natural floodplains surrounding the capital."

In addition to the obvious humanitarian issues, Bangkok's sinking woes are a scary thought for those that are investing big bucks in the city's real estate sector. Among the more radical proposals being suggested to fix the situation is the construction of a massive 100 kilometer dike right across the Gulf of Thailand from Hua Hin to Pattaya

Read more: Bangkok sinking, warn scientists | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com...3#ixzz15Ro5Y2JR

[Thaddeus]

In some areas, the Dutch used land fill to bring the land above sea level.

Wouldn't that be relatively easy for Thailand to do?

Only if there is nothing currently built on the land, bit difficult to jack up a tall building and shovel some dirt under it.

It's being done in Venice, Italy

The Historic City of Venice only has 60,000 people live there... how can you compare this to Bangkok ... there are 60,000 in my Soi..

Thank you.

The views from the dizzy heights of the skyscrapers in Venice are quite staggering aren't they.

[Thaddeus]

In some areas, the Dutch used land fill to bring the land above sea level.

Wouldn't that be relatively easy for Thailand to do?

Only if there is nothing currently built on the land, bit difficult to jack up a tall building and shovel some dirt under it.

No, but bringing street level up is possible.

Buildings would have to change their floor plan and reassign the second floor to be the lobby - it is feasible.

So, bringing up the level of everything that isn't stood on piles driven into the bedrock within the entire Bangkok area is quite feasible is it...... good luck with that.

[HannahD]

This would require the Elites to pay out money to build, control and plan for decades ahead.....with no real "profit" to be made, so why would they?

Let us not forget, Thailand is run for what the Elites and Millionaire Generals can make, not what is best for Thailand and the nations future.

Aren't nearly all countries run for the benefit of the elites? It is just easier to see in some countries than in others.

[phaethon]

The Historic City of Venice only has 60,000 people live there... how can you compare this to Bangkok ... there are 60,000 in my Soi..

How did you come to get 60,000 Venetians in your soi?

[cup-O-coffee]

Bangkok is listed as number 7 on at least one sinking cities list. There are others as well that rate it in the top ten. Ahead if it are New York, New Orleans and Houston. Number one is Mexico City.

It will be most interesting over the next several years to observe the individual reactions of these locations.

With this certainty of Bangkok being under water being in the Ethernet and in the news, it seems ironic that that people still sell ground floor real estate in Bangkok. What's more alarming is that people are still buying real estate in Bangkok! Incredible! A million THB or more investment with a life expectancy of only 7 to 15 years, according to scientists.

There will be many many people sitting on swampy real estate with absolutely no value.

Bad markets hurt a country more than bad geography! No confidence!

Alluding to what the other poster suggested, buying real estate in Bangkok is a bit like purchasing a ticket on the Titanic's last voyage; but in this scenario, one knows in advance that the ship will collide with an iceberg, the ship will sink, and one will lose all their belongings, and be lucky to get a seat on a lifeboat.

With that in mind, one could hardly put their faith in the Skipper - or the city fathers for that matter - with such a certainty on the horizon.

Edited November 17, 2010 by cup-O-coffee

[Thaddeus]

The Historic City of Venice only has 60,000 people live there... how can you compare this to Bangkok ... there are 60,000 in my Soi..

How did you come to get 60,000 Venetians in your soi?

It was dry.