Plan To Evacuate Parts Of Bangkok

[scotbeve]

I don't know if this road has ever been flooded, wish I could help. I also can't answer your question on travel to BKK the week of the 13-19, just keep up on the news bulletins is my best advice.

The worst flooding I've ever seen in Bangkok was in 1983. Most of Bangkok was flooded for 2 months, with Ramkamhaeng U. being underwater and therefore closed for 3 months. Water over the roofs of many of the buildings on campus. We're not anywhere near the 1983 levels of flooding in Bangkok, at least not yet...

I didn't check back that far, I only looked at 1995 and on, especially around 2006-2010. There is a bunch of reports that analyzied the flood and say what needs to be done, I will find out what levels in 1983 were are talking about. Have you ever seen BKK airport flood out?

Thanks your you input it helps.

I lived in Phrakhanong in 1983 and the areas of Phrakhanong and Klongtan had 50 cm depth of water for almost a month....

[ExpatOilWorker]

Just seen a video from Reuters that states an estimated 7 Billion Cubic Meters (Yes BILLION) of water is heading towards Bangkok!!!! Holy Crap!!!

http://uk.reuters.co...deoId=222361051

I know I've seen somewhere the installed systems can only handle 1 Million/day.

I hope the numbers are wrong.....

Actually, 7 billion cubic meters doesn't sound like that much. Flow rates in the Chaopaya around Chainat are around .3 billion per day. It is all heading to Bangkok and could take a couple of weeks to get there. So you might multiply this by 14 and you are not far from 7 billion in just one river alone.

There is an awful lot more water that isn't in the rivers flowing at various rates all heading towards Bangkok.

Now there is also a lot of various elongated routes that the water can be diverted around to extend the time it takes to reach the sea.

Traditionally, the long term flooding problems in Bangkok are related to tides. Those tides are particularly high during October so definitely problems if you are outside of the flood protection areas.

This year seems to be much worse as the water just keeps on coming with no easing of the flood situation way up river around Nakhon Sawan so it will definitely be a long time before it all recedes and we are getting very close to those tidal problems.

From past experience in Bangkok, I doubt that the central areas of Bangkok will have much problem other than a few hours of flooding after heavy rain. Just long enough for the pumps to catch up. Those full canals are released at each low tide so full canals might be deceiving unless the heavy rains coincide with high tides.

The Chaopaya River in Bangkois flowing pretty fast as the moment, but lets for easy sake say it is flowing at 10 km/h, is 100 m wide and on average 4 m deep (6 m in the center and 2 at the edges).

Flow rate = 24 x 10,000 x 100 x 4 = 96 million m3/day

It will take a long time to get 7 billion m3 past Bangkok.

[MaxYakov]

Just seen a video from Reuters that states an estimated 7 Billion Cubic Meters (Yes BILLION) of water is heading towards Bangkok!!!! Holy Crap!!!

http://uk.reuters.co...deoId=222361051

I know I've seen somewhere the installed systems can only handle 1 Million/day.

I hope the numbers are wrong.....

Actually, 7 billion cubic meters doesn't sound like that much. Flow rates in the Chaopaya around Chainat are around .3 billion per day. It is all heading to Bangkok and could take a couple of weeks to get there. So you might multiply this by 14 and you are not far from 7 billion in just one river alone.

There is an awful lot more water that isn't in the rivers flowing at various rates all heading towards Bangkok.

Now there is also a lot of various elongated routes that the water can be diverted around to extend the time it takes to reach the sea.

Traditionally, the long term flooding problems in Bangkok are related to tides. Those tides are particularly high during October so definitely problems if you are outside of the flood protection areas.

This year seems to be much worse as the water just keeps on coming with no easing of the flood situation way up river around Nakhon Sawan so it will definitely be a long time before it all recedes and we are getting very close to those tidal problems.

From past experience in Bangkok, I doubt that the central areas of Bangkok will have much problem other than a few hours of flooding after heavy rain. Just long enough for the pumps to catch up. Those full canals are released at each low tide so full canals might be deceiving unless the heavy rains coincide with high tides.

The Chaopaya River in Bangkois flowing pretty fast as the moment, but lets for easy sake say it is flowing at 10 km/h, is 100 m wide and on average 4 m deep (6 m in the center and 2 at the edges).

Flow rate = 24 x 10,000 x 100 x 4 = 96 million m3/day

It will take a long time to get 7 billion m3 past Bangkok.

Drainage and Sewerage Department director Sanya Cheenimit said the water situation in the Thai capital was worrying and needed to be closely monitored.

The water flow at Chao Phraya and Rama VI Dams reached 4,943 cubic metres/second on Sunday, an increase of 22 cubic metres/second from Saturday.

According to Mr Sanya, the water levels passing through Bangkok's Rama XIII Bridge stood at 4,000 cubic metres/second and Saturday night's highest water level was recorded at 2.03 metres.

If I understand the above from an embedded report, since it's so poorly worded, the Chao Phraya is passing roughly 5,000 cubic meters/sec.

So, since there are 86,400 seconds in a day, that says that:

(86.4 K X 5 KCM ) = 432 million cubic meters daily being passed.

Based on this, it would take well over two weeks (> 16 days) for the Phraya to pass 7 billion cubic meters, everything remaining the same (There is this 1000-boat unfalsifiable hypothesis/experiment).

Now, is this an additional 7 billion cubic meters?! If it is additional, how much of it be taking a shortcut through Bangkok is the big question.

[wana]

look at this way ........

the water is coming ,7 billion sq metres at least .........

such a mass of water is not going to treacle slowly into the sea over 21-30 days

if you triple the volume of water flow its bound to go over the banks anywhere it can ,taking the shortest path to the lower ground

the ground in some areas is already flooded to the point of saturation ,combine this with next weekends high tide, heavy rains and an extra 7 billion square metres of water flow from the provinces and a lot of bangkok is going to have wet feet

[purushanti]

I don't know if this road has ever been flooded, wish I could help. I also can't answer your question on travel to BKK the week of the 13-19, just keep up on the news bulletins is my best advice.

The worst flooding I've ever seen in Bangkok was in 1983. Most of Bangkok was flooded for 2 months, with Ramkamhaeng U. being underwater and therefore closed for 3 months. Water over the roofs of many of the buildings on campus. We're not anywhere near the 1983 levels of flooding in Bangkok, at least not yet...

How high were those roofs at Ramkhanhaeng University in the 1983 flood that the water rose over?

[user82374298374]

I've looked at the available information online vis-a-vis flood protection in Bangkok, but my lack of Thai language skills is a bit of a hindrance, unfortunately.

Informed opinion about whether the lower Sukhumvit area (i.e., near Nana BTS/Sois 3 - 23) will potentially be affected by the anticipated flooding would be greatly appreciated!

[Microwave]

I don't know the specific heighth of the buildings, but many were 3 - 4 floors in height. Couldn't even see the roofs. I remember a photo on the front page of the Bangkok Post showing a long-tail boat in Ramkamhaeng U. with the caption, "This must never happen again". Let's hope that it doesn't happen again.

[WarpSpeed]

i don't have any boots. a lot of rat urine in the water and dirty canal water will kill people who have open wounds.

Not they won't be killed, but may need antibiotics.

Antibiotics are ineffective against viruses, molds, spores and small parasites.

The pictures of foot problems due to flooding are rather grim. I would post some, but I don't think I need to show rotting flesh to make the point. I do hope that everyone who comes in contact with standing water, rinses and gives a rigorous wash with soap ). In the areas of flooding the tap water will be contaminated and care should be taken. Refrain from the overuse of the alcohol based sanitizers as they will dry out the skin causing it to lose the dead skin layers and natural oil that act as a natural barrier to these beasties. Also, the number of ear, nose and throat illnesses reported has increased, particularly amongst the under 10 age group. This is most likely attributable to the kids being shorter and more likely to be exposed to water spray and due to children's habit of putting hands to mouth, nose and eyes. The flood water is technically hazardous waste and is classified as "sewage and/or "industrial effluent".

Yep I just stocked up on rubber boots for the family, heavy rubber gloves antibiotic/antifungal creams and yes they do have their place, also have gotten medical grade masks and I think tomorrow were going to the hospital to see about the need for some injections.

There is also another often times overlooked but very disturbing aspect of this especially for those who are lucky enough to be on higher ground and that may be us as well.. I saw a YouTube video yesterday I can't find now that showed an earlier flood downtown and there was rats all over the place and the cockroaches were in the thousands climbing on the walls of these stores. Be very careful as there will be all sorts of un-friendlies including snakes, scorpions and centipedes coming out of the woodwork and then sewers needles to say..

We've got cats for the rats and pesticides for the cockroaches but the idea still gives me the willies ..

[Jackiez]

Flood map - English

[WarpSpeed]

I need to get to Don Muang from Mo Chit next Sunday (16th) and I read that this could be crunch time for Bangkok. As I am not familiar with the districts of Bangkok, can anyone tell me if this particular area would be affected if the predictions come true?

I'm in Don Muang and I sure hope not, but I'm just as uncertain as you are. One of my neighbors has sand bagged, we're pretty high here as is the airport relatively speaking but I've been driving around the last few days trying to make an assessment based on the locals and I'm undecided as to a course of action as we are very close to the Army base but they don't seem to have taken any precautions. They were out side painting their front gate today and there is no one sand bagging their homes except this one neighbor so are they just complacent and destined for a big disappointment?

The Chao Phraya river is not too far from our location up Srong Bra Pa rd. north of Tiwanon so I drove up that way and it is definitively over the banks with roads closed off and houses underwater. I also saw several large tugs and a freighter none of which seemed to be pushing any water so I wonder why not?

I surveyed the surrounding grades in relation to the klongs and for it to get to this point it has to breach a pretty high grade on all sides about 2 to 3 meters sewers notwithstanding and the surrounding land outside that perimeter is quite a bit lower with a fair bit of wide open wild property for the water to move into so it all seems to be a crap shoot and to this point that's how I'm handling it by keeping a proactive plan in place and monitoring. My only concern is a sudden unexpected rise at night so these heavy nightime thunderstorms like the one that just passed over us and came from the north are my largest concerns.. I'm afraid some sleepless nights ahead..

I could be wrong (I hope not ) but my experience tells me if we get anything I think it'll be only a few centimeters deep and the biggest concern for us is the health issues and other creatures seeking high ground IMO..

[EvilDrSomkid]

Flood map - English

Does not show anything when you click on a province, Bangkok, for instance.

[Microwave]

I've found a few links which reference the 1983 Bangkok flooding:

http://planetforward.org/2011/08/18/bangkok-underground-how-to-prepare-for-a-flood/

http://www.springerlink.com/content/k560331803814775/

There are other links found when doing a google search on "Bangkok flooding 1983", these links all reference 1983 as one of the worst years ever for flooding in Bangkok.

[tombkk]

Flood map - English

Thanks for this link.

[webfact]

Evacuation centres ready: city officials

The Nation

Bangkok prepared to face deluge: Sukhumbhand

Bangkok Governor Sukhum-bhand Paribatra looked to backtrack yesterday from his vow that the capital could escape massive flooding, saying he never promised the capital would not be inundated.

"Flooding could happen anytime but the important thing is preventive measures and how to drain the water," Sukhumbhand said.

Eastern districts had been ordered to set up 80 evacuation centres, he said.

City administrators were fully prepared to prevent flooding and mitigate any damage, he told reporters while inspecting Phra Khanong Canal drainage station, where water was being pumped to the giant Rama IXRamkhamhaeng sewer tunnel.

The Phra Khanong station plays a crucial role in expelling flood water that arrives in Bangkok. It is equipped with four pumps capable of pushing out 210 cubic metres of water a second or about 80 million cubic metres per day, he said.

The city would speed up building three giant storm tunnels in Bang Sue, Don Muang and Nong Bon districts. Once completed, they would serve to get rid of flood water very fast, he said.

Reserve power for the pumps had also been prepared in case of blackouts caused by floods.

Nearly all floodgates have been opened, as requested by the central government, to divert runoff from upstream provinces.

But the floodgates might not be used at full capacity because the city feared people living by the canals would suffer floods.

The government would have to let city officials know in advance if the water gates would have to be opened wider, so the city could warn residents to make preparations.

The eastern districts and the communities outside the levees were at risk of flooding, while Samphan Thawong was the only inner district at risk.

"But I'm certain that we can handle it," he said.

Rising sea tides would make the situation worse but the city was completely ready to cope with the situation, he said.

Officials had yet to draw up an evacuation plan but evacuation centres would be opened in some districts. Municipal schools, teachers and workers had been ordered to remain on standby and food prepared in case thousands of residents needed to be moved, he said.

Deputy City Clerk Pirapong Saichua said 80 evacuation centres had been arranged in nine districts, which could accommodate 8,000 to 10,000 people.

Residents of four of the nine eastern districts could be hit by a water surge from upstream provinces, he said. They were Nong Chok, Klong Samwa, Lat Krabang and Min Buri.

Pinyo Pinkaew, director of the Nong Chok district office, said rising water had already swamped houses along Klongs 9, 10 and 12 and parts of Prachasamran Road were under 1030 centimetres of water.

Some 37 schools in his district were all set to shelter flood victims, he said.

-- The Nation 2011-10-10

[Thai at Heart]

Aside from the diseases etc, what contingency is there to switch off the electricity if Bangkok goes under?

An average 7-11 probably has enough electrical outlets to zap 100's, never mind aunties noodle stand with 100 strip lights connected to a 4 point adapter strip.

[TomJoad]

At what point would YOU leave Bangkok? And where would you go if you did? I still have no idea.

[rakman]

Flood map - English

It's hard to find a contour map of BKK, but I think I may have found one:

http://mapstor.com/map-sets/country-maps/thailand.html

It's only a few USD ($) for those interested. I'm not associated with the site and not sure how good these maps are for looking at your area.

Google is your friend for the things you find..LOL

[webfact]

UPDATED: Map of the 15 Flood Risk Areas in Bangkok (10 October) http://bit.ly/qlId0X /via@RichardBarrow

[metisdead]

Some posts were deleted per forum rule:

31) Members are not allowed to quote news articles or material from Bangkokpost.com or Phuketwan inside topics on Thaivisa.com. Posts from members containing quotes will be deleted from the forum. Members posting links referring back to the sites is also not allowed and will be deleted.

[Naam]

look at this way ........

the water is coming ,7 billion sq metres at least .........

such a mass of water is not going to treacle slowly into the sea over 21-30 days

if you triple the volume of water flow its bound to go over the banks anywhere it can ,taking the shortest path to the lower ground

the ground in some areas is already flooded to the point of saturation ,combine this with next weekends high tide, heavy rains and an extra 7 billion square metres of water flow from the provinces and a lot of bangkok is going to have wet feet

"the water is coming ,7 billion sq metres at least ...."

it's the square meters that makes the flood most dangerous!

[wana]

look at this way ........

the water is coming ,7 billion sq metres at least .........

such a mass of water is not going to treacle slowly into the sea over 21-30 days

if you triple the volume of water flow its bound to go over the banks anywhere it can ,taking the shortest path to the lower ground

the ground in some areas is already flooded to the point of saturation ,combine this with next weekends high tide, heavy rains and an extra 7 billion square metres of water flow from the provinces and a lot of bangkok is going to have wet feet

"the water is coming ,7 billion sq metres at least ...."

it's the square meters that makes the flood most dangerous!

that should have read "cubic metres " but its still a shitload of water heading for bangkok .......

[scorpio2369]

UPDATED: Map of the 15 Flood Risk Areas in Bangkok (10 October) http://bit.ly/qlId0X /via@RichardBarrow

very nice post. I appreciate the information on the website. This is the type of technology we need to have at our fingertips (I hope it gets updated!!).

[BigBikeBKK]

Some posts were deleted per forum rule:

31) Members are not allowed to quote news articles or material from Bangkokpost.com or Phuketwan inside topics on Thaivisa.com. Posts from members containing quotes will be deleted from the forum. Members posting links referring back to the sites is also not allowed and will be deleted.

Which is such a shame as the Bangkok Post has by far the best English language coverage of this developing crisis...

[h90]

Some posts were deleted per forum rule:

31) Members are not allowed to quote news articles or material from Bangkokpost.com or Phuketwan inside topics on Thaivisa.com. Posts from members containing quotes will be deleted from the forum. Members posting links referring back to the sites is also not allowed and will be deleted.

Which is such a shame as the Bangkok Post has by far the best English language coverage of this developing crisis...

but best is still far away from good.

[BigBikeBKK]

Some posts were deleted per forum rule:

31) Members are not allowed to quote news articles or material from Bangkokpost.com or Phuketwan inside topics on Thaivisa.com. Posts from members containing quotes will be deleted from the forum. Members posting links referring back to the sites is also not allowed and will be deleted.

Which is such a shame as the Bangkok Post has by far the best English language coverage of this developing crisis...

but best is still far away from good.

Well, if you know of a better source for up to date English language information on the flood situation why don't you let us know?

[scorpio2369]

UPDATED: Map of the 15 Flood Risk Areas in Bangkok (10 October) http://bit.ly/qlId0X /via@RichardBarrow

very nice post. I appreciate the information on the website. This is the type of technology we need to have at our fingertips (I hope it gets updated!!).

Actually it is real time monitoring (every 15 minutes) of the canals in Bangkok, very nice site!!!

[h90]

Some posts were deleted per forum rule:

31) Members are not allowed to quote news articles or material from Bangkokpost.com or Phuketwan inside topics on Thaivisa.com. Posts from members containing quotes will be deleted from the forum. Members posting links referring back to the sites is also not allowed and will be deleted.

Which is such a shame as the Bangkok Post has by far the best English language coverage of this developing crisis...

but best is still far away from good.

Well, if you know of a better source for up to date English language information on the flood situation why don't you let us know?

no it seems there is no good source, my wife is telling there is no good source in Thai language as well. Big fail of the government.

[BigBikeBKK]

Which is such a shame as the Bangkok Post has by far the best English language coverage of this developing crisis...

but best is still far away from good.

Well, if you know of a better source for up to date English language information on the flood situation why don't you let us know?

no it seems there is no good source, my wife is telling there is no good source in Thai language as well. Big fail of the government.

While I agree that the government's reaction has been slow and inept there are a lot of good sources for flood information in Thai. Some examples:

• Thailand Flood Monitoring System
• Map Monitoring the water level in canals in Bangkok
• Map showing flooding on highways in Thailand

My only gripe is that the above sites are available only in Thai and give current data but no future forecasting. It's my fault for not learning to read Thai though

This is where the Bangkok Post comes in handy as they are able to look at the current data and make some predictions about how the floods will evolve going forward.

While the Bangkok Post article seems to indicate that I'm in a safe area I've sandbagged the house anyway, just in case-

Good luck everyone!

[h90]

While I agree that the government's reaction has been slow and inept there are a lot of good sources for flood information in Thai. Some examples:

• Thailand Flood Monitoring System
• Map Monitoring the water level in canals in Bangkok
• Map showing flooding on highways in Thailand

My only gripe is that the above sites are available only in Thai and give current data but no future forecasting. It's my fault for not learning to read Thai though

This is where the Bangkok Post comes in handy as they are able to look at the current data and make some predictions about how the floods will evolve going forward.

While the Bangkok Post article seems to indicate that I'm in a safe area I've sandbagged the house anyway, just in case-

Good luck everyone!

The Canal webpage does not load, the others are better than nothing but outdated and not telling enough. And not at all it is a central information system for the people.

It makes a big difference if you know it a couple of hours before or not.

[nocturn]

At what point would YOU leave Bangkok? And where would you go if you did? I still have no idea.

id go to my house at the beach. the question is whether or not i ill be able out of the reclaimed swamp that is the airport.