Thailand Battles To Keep Floods From Bangkok

[ratcatcher]

OK this might sound stupid but I am just pissed off with the wife. We had planed to visit the family in Korat (Phimai) over the school hols, we are in C/M. However due to all the rain and flooding it's looking like it could be a problem, I asked her to find out if we can drive there OK or not. She has not made the phone call to ask the police about the roads and to find out the best way to go.

So can any one tell me if it is sensible to attempt to drive down this Sunday or not?

From Chiang Mai,come on down to Lampang, Uttaradit on HWY 11 to Phitsanulok junction with Hwy 12. Go east on Hwy12 to Lomsak and head up into the high country towards Chumphae. Highway 12 should bring you to Khon Khaen.

Perhaps if any members are in the Lomsak to Khon Khaen corridor may know if there 's flooding up there.

Hope that's of some use.

rc

[hansnl]

It would actually be a blessing in disguise if some areas of the capital flooded.

some of the khlongs, San Saeb comes to mind, are nothing but open sewers filled with black,fetid water that can prove fatal if one is unlucky enough to fall in.

Flushing out the drain system would not be a bad thing either. I hate to think what's down there except millions of rats.

Here here ! My thoughts exactly. It's about time the sewers ( and other areas ) of Bangkok had a good flushing. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to walk along the street without the constant foul smell emitting from the drains. Shame so many people have to suffer though. Why can't Bangkok have storm drains like in the usa ? Then, when there's no water in them, overflow traffic could use them.....

You really think concreting over waterways is a good idea?

So that traffic can use those concrete basins?

Better idea, make overflow reservoirs where the surplus water can be stored till it can be drained to the sea.

But that would mean lot of land being designated to be inundated every rainy season.

Now that would become very interesting

[elcent]

Two hours ago I have talked with business owners and a hotel in Mahatai/Ramkhamhaeng area. They expect the flood to come, starting at midnight. The hotel put sandbags in front even it's on one of the highest levels in that area. SMSs go around amongs locals here warning each other. They say it's not just the flood situation, but also the constellation of our planet that shifts every 30 years which falls exactly on today midnight. Klong SanSaeb is wobbling like a beast while the roads are still dry at the moment, but that could change within hours from now. In the evening, the major amount of water to reach Bangkok was only 7 km away.

[WarpSpeed]

It would actually be a blessing in disguise if some areas of the capital flooded.

some of the khlongs, San Saeb comes to mind, are nothing but open sewers filled with black,fetid water that can prove fatal if one is unlucky enough to fall in.

Flushing out the drain system would not be a bad thing either. I hate to think what's down there except millions of rats.

I can assure you it would not be a blessing in disguise. Hope you've all had your cholera jabs ?

Yes this is giving me serious concerns along with the flooding possibility , the raw sewage coming up into the streets has me very edgy more so then the possible property damage afterwards...

[mezcal]

Any link to this so called Thai-stradamus?

Wish I had one. Unfortunately, what I had was a Thai language version (old Lanna dialect) that my Thai niece was reading, and then translated for me. Trust me when I say her English is as good as most on here, despite the fact she's only 15. But I'll see if I she still has it, and try to get a copy to send you.

I'd love to know more about that, too. Tried to find more info on the net, but not much out there...or censored, like your post...

[rubl]

Here here ! My thoughts exactly. It's about time the sewers ( and other areas ) of Bangkok had a good flushing. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to walk along the street without the constant foul smell emitting from the drains. Shame so many people have to suffer though. Why can't Bangkok have storm drains like in the usa ? Then, when there's no water in them, overflow traffic could use them.....

You really think concreting over waterways is a good idea?

So that traffic can use those concrete basins?

Better idea, make overflow reservoirs where the surplus water can be stored till it can be drained to the sea.

But that would mean lot of land being designated to be inundated every rainy season.

Now that would become very interesting

Overflow reservoirs, isn't that the same as Bangkok's suburbs? Mind you, some decided that catchment area called 'Cobra swamp' would make a nice airport

Edited October 7, 2011 by rubl

[elcent]

I've seen the wobbling myself. The water rises very fast. There must be a strong under-current from several directions, which explains the wobbling at the surface.

[BKKBrit]

I think (correct me if I am wrong) what goes in the tubes under the toilet will be pushed up to street level again if the everything is overloaded with water, right?

If all the crap goes into the khlongs, then yes, I would think so. But being Bangkok a modern city, in terms, I would guess the sewage system would go straight into the ocean, no? that's what they do in the bigger coastal cities in Brazil at least, we call it "emissários submarinos", something like "submerged drainage system", which brings all that kind of things 10-12km down the ocean.

You evidently haven't seen the pipes stretching out into Pattaya Bay? With used syringes and condoms on the beach, it must be worse than Klong San Saeb in terms of a health risk. No wonder they call it the cess-pit of Asia.

[BuffaloRescue]

Some sois in On Nut Rd. area are having draining problems... the rain comes, they get "full" of water (10-20cm) and the water remains there for days, having nowhere to go (the khlongs are almost at street level). I don't walk, I drive... but it smells really bad. (and the other day I say a small girl "fishing" on the street... urgh )

I think (correct me if I am wrong) what goes in the tubes under the toilet will be pushed up to street level again if the everything is overloaded with water, right?

Yep.. was in pattaya when it flooded a month ago. Sewage, condoms, the lot floating down beach road.

Plenty of diseases you can get diptheria etc

[Ianatlarge]

Geez you guys, what about my problems? Last night I left my MBT shoes on my second story balcony in Pattaya and it rained. They got wet. MBTs take a day to dry!

[Lite Beer]

Thailand warns floods menace Bangkok

by Anusak Konglang

BANGKOK, October 7, 2011 (AFP) - Thailand's prime minister warned Friday that Bangkok was under threat from the country's worst floods in decades as the authorities stepped up efforts to protect the capital and key industrial areas.

"The flooding situation is now considered a serious crisis," Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said in a nationally televised address, noting that 252 people have died across the country due to more than two months of heavy rains.

While the capital has so far escaped major flooding, Yingluck said the city of 12 million people would not escape unscathed.

"It is going to directly affect Bangkok," she said.

Homes, roads and factories are already inundated just north of the low-lying capital and more storms are expected in the days to come.

Many residents in affected areas have ignored the government's appeal to evacuate to safe areas, preferring to stay and guard homes submerged by the rising waters.

The authorities raced to put up flood walls alongside canals and rivers on Bangkok's northern outskirts as huge amounts of muddy water flow down river.

"Nothing could be worse than the current situation, but the most important thing is to prevent flooding in Bangkok and two industrial estates" north of the city, said Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi.

A key test is expected in mid-October, when large amounts of run-off water reach the capital and high tides make it harder for the floods to flow out to sea.

"Every canal in Bangkok is already at full capacity. If more rain comes it's likely that Bangkok will be inundated," Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said on television.

He said the city was preparing emergency stocks of food and drinking water, and setting up evacuation centres at schools.

The floods -- several metres deep in places -- have damaged the homes or livelihoods of millions of people in Thailand, particularly farmers, according to the government.

The military has been deployed to help victims and army camps are being opened to evacuees.

Japanese car giant Honda has suspended production temporarily after its parts factories was inundated in Ayutthaya, the ancient capital just north of Bangkok.

According to economists at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the damage amounts to 104 billion baht (3.4 billion dollars) in terms of the impact on buildings, crops, livestock, industry, tourism and trade.

It said the impact could knock about one percent off the country's annual economic output.

With more storms forecast, the fear is that the economic costs could rise if the waters reach the capital's business and economic hub.

"Certainly Bangkok will be flooded. We have to assess the situation after each storm," said independent expert Royal Chitradon, director of Thai Integrated Water Resource Management.

Bangkok, located on the gradually sinking Chao Phraya delta, has been classified by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as one of the cities most at risk from coastal flooding by 2070.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-10-07

[robokop]

I bet this will cause all kinds of problrems with the sewerage treatment plants

[hellodolly]

Meanwhile, instead of dispensing sensible advice to the people the government just has blithering idiots like Plodprasod pretending that all is well and tooling around with barge propellers like a mentally retarded little kid.

Dont think you are allowed mention the barge propellers....

Surely someone who is a minister of the governmentwould not suggest that barges have propellers............would he?

Of course not minister's in the goverment whose portfolio includes scientific research would know from his many years at a top university studing the sciences that barges typically dont have propellers and are in fact towed...

If they don't have propellers what were the engines on the barges the army loaded up with Burmese and towed out to the middle of nowhere used for and why remove them?

[elcent]

years ago I have seen when they pumpt water into the canals it came right back, a couple of hundreds meters away, through the drainage system creating fountains up to 3 meters high. Was funny to look at, but serious altogether too.

[roamer]

I bet this will cause all kinds of problrems with the sewerage treatment plants

Well there are people on here that actually believe you flush the klongs but not the sewage system. Much of the city relies on a combined sewer system, this collects sanitary sewage and wastewater and transports it to treatment plants and away from the khlongs. Although the sewage piping has improved since the 90's there has always been doubts that it could handle a severe flood of the type that threatens Bangkok. If it can't handle it then it will back up with very unpleasant consequences, you might not want to enter your bathroom any time soon.

[h90]

Some sois in On Nut Rd. area are having draining problems... the rain comes, they get "full" of water (10-20cm) and the water remains there for days, having nowhere to go (the khlongs are almost at street level). I don't walk, I drive... but it smells really bad. (and the other day I say a small girl "fishing" on the street... urgh )

I think (correct me if I am wrong) what goes in the tubes under the toilet will be pushed up to street level again if the everything is overloaded with water, right?

Yep.. was in pattaya when it flooded a month ago. Sewage, condoms, the lot floating down beach road.

Plenty of diseases you can get diptheria etc

I read, I got the image in my mind, I vomited in my keyboard :sick:

Maybe I should stock some antibiotics......

[roamer]

Some sois in On Nut Rd. area are having draining problems... the rain comes, they get "full" of water (10-20cm) and the water remains there for days, having nowhere to go (the khlongs are almost at street level). I don't walk, I drive... but it smells really bad. (and the other day I say a small girl "fishing" on the street... urgh )

I think (correct me if I am wrong) what goes in the tubes under the toilet will be pushed up to street level again if the everything is overloaded with water, right?

Yep.. was in pattaya when it flooded a month ago. Sewage, condoms, the lot floating down beach road.

Plenty of diseases you can get diptheria etc

I read, I got the image in my mind, I vomited in my keyboard :sick:

Maybe I should stock some antibiotics......

Bottled water to take the pills with.

[prefabs]

can anyone advise what is the best website if any to monitor the latest situation in different parts of Bangkok as to whether an area has become impassable t? I am particularly interested in the area around Morchit as I will be arriving there by NCA bus from the North on Monday and hopefully departing from there five days later.

Roads from the North are closed by flooding. Bus companies have cancelled schedules until later on. Morchit won't be a problem for you as you won't be able to get there

[spectrumisgreen]

It would actually be a blessing in disguise if some areas of the capital flooded.

some of the khlongs, San Saeb comes to mind, are nothing but open sewers filled with black,fetid water that can prove fatal if one is unlucky enough to fall in.

Flushing out the drain system would not be a bad thing either. I hate to think what's down there except millions of rats.

Er.. if some of the klongs are 'nothing more than open sewers..' wouldn't them getting flooded actually just bring that poisonous crap that 'can prove fatal..' up to where it will certainly prove so for far more people than the few 'unlucky enough to fall in'??!!!

'.. a blessing in disguise..' - strange comment that!!

[DJConan]

Just curious, I am flying into Suvarnabhumi on Thursday night. I have not seen any mention about the airport. Could there be a problem there next week? From there, I am flying to Khon Kaen, which I have not heard much about lately either.

[roamer]

Just curious, I am flying into Suvarnabhumi on Thursday night. I have not seen any mention about the airport. Could there be a problem there next week? From there, I am flying to Khon Kaen, which I have not heard much about lately either.

Its not called Swampy for nothing ! Seriously though I doubt anyone can say anything with any certainty. The airport can be OK but staff still have to get there to work etc, supplies need to get through.

[MaxYakov]

Some sois in On Nut Rd. area are having draining problems... the rain comes, they get "full" of water (10-20cm) and the water remains there for days, having nowhere to go (the khlongs are almost at street level). I don't walk, I drive... but it smells really bad. (and the other day I say a small girl "fishing" on the street... urgh )

One should not immerse any body part in such water. I'm not even sure about breathing it. Think BIO-HAZARD ... Speaking of bio-hazards, unlike Pattaya, I hope they can keep the Crocs down on the farms.

Edited October 7, 2011 by MaxYakov

[bangon04]

It would actually be a blessing in disguise if some areas of the capital flooded.

some of the khlongs, San Saeb comes to mind, are nothing but open sewers filled with black,fetid water that can prove fatal if one is unlucky enough to fall in.

Flushing out the drain system would not be a bad thing either. I hate to think what's down there except millions of rats.

The only people who can survive a fall into Khlong San Saeb these days are Thai politicians. It would be lethally toxic to normal humans...

[BigBikeBKK]

Heavy rain here in Wang Thong Lang, Bangkok for the past couple of hours...

Only a few km away from Khlong SaenSaeb.

Wonder if I should I start moving everything up to the second floor?

[housepainter]

But they said it'll never again, again and it has so it can't be true!

We must protect bangkok as that's where the money is! It's a terrible shame! What is?

Well the corruption will be affected and the 'tea' money will have to be called ............ sand bag money or better still sand bag money for the widows and orphans. Hey it's raining again!

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BUDGET FOR RAIN?????

Not enough money after the cuts had to be. The cuts for you and the cuts for me, then for Uncle and boss and his boss and then big boss and then master mind.

This must never happen again!!Oh, and it's sad.

Yes, very sad that rain falls and it must be fault of falang.

Imagine if they bought land how much rain we'd get then.

Imagine.

Edited October 7, 2011 by housepainter

[henlin]

5.15 a.m. It's been tipping down with rain here in Nakhon Pathom (A. Meuang) for what seems like all night. Yesterday the canals were pretty full, but obviously can't see the situation at the moment. We won't have an Ayuthaya situation, but expect traffic jams, etc.

H.

[webfact]

BMA takes steps to stop flooding in east Bangkok

The Nation

A new flood-prevention measure has been adopted to protect Nong Chok district in eastern Bangkok from being inundated if the three major canals, which are full to the brim, overflow when the tide hits its peak between October 15 and 17.

Under the measure, dubbed the Nong Chok model by Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra, residents also have easy access to sandbags and wood needed to build dykes or makeshift bridges. In addition, mobile toilet units and extra water pumps have been installed in many areas in Nong Chok district, but drainage is slower than expected as all canals are at their peak.

Sukhumbhand has instructed officials in Lat Krabang, Min Buri and Klong Sam Wa, all in eastern Bangkok and prone to flash floods, to adopt the same model in their flood-relief operations.

The governor said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is capable of handling the flood situation in the capital and that the government should deal with problems elsewhere in the country.

"The BMA does not need help because we have all the equipment needed to provide public services. People in the provinces are suffering far more than in Bangkok, so the government should focus on helping them.

"This is not a matter of pride, but it is a necessity that the BMA should be able to take care of itself while operating full-scale public services," he explained.

Meanwhile, authorities in Samut Prakan are directing water from canals and catchment areas in Muang district to estuaries to minimise the risk of Suvarnabhumi Airport flooding.

Navy vessels are also helping out by driving water out of the Chao Phraya River, Governor Cherdsak Choosri said.

-- The Nation 2011-10-08

[DJConan]

Its not called Swampy for nothing ! Seriously though I doubt anyone can say anything with any certainty. The airport can be OK but staff still have to get there to work etc, supplies need to get through.

That's a good point. I guess I am just wondering if there could be cancellations that could throw off the schedule leaving me stuck as well. I guess I will find out when i get there. I have not been in Thailand during the rainy season before so I'm not sure what to expect.

[FOODLOVER]

"Navy vessels are also helping out by driving water out of the Chao Phraya River, Governor Cherdsak Choosri said."

Still doing this?! Try flushing sponges down the toilet boys! Pomplem solved.

Edited October 8, 2011 by FOODLOVER

[Bpuumike]

Meanwhile, instead of dispensing sensible advice to the people the government just has blithering idiots like Plodprasod pretending that all is well and tooling around with barge propellers like a mentally retarded little kid.

Dont think you are allowed mention the barge propellers....

Surely someone who is a minister of the governmentwould not suggest that barges have propellers............would he?

Hmmm... barges with propellers are called boats, even ships, where I come from