Floods Kill Hundreds In Southeast Asia

[webfact]

Floods kill hundreds in Southeast Asia

BANGKOK, October 11, 2011 (AFP) - Massive floods have left 500 people dead across Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, officials said Monday, as authorities stepped up efforts to reach victims of the unusually heavy monsoon rains.

In Thailand, where the death toll from the country's worst floods in decades rose to 269, thousands of soldiers fanned out across affected areas as part of a huge aid operation.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who has described the situation as a "serious crisis," said the kingdom had two days before the arrival of the next tropical depression, but insisted the situation was under control.

"It is not necessary to announce disaster zones because we still can handle it," she told reporters, a day after postponing official visits to Singapore and Malaysia to stay and monitor the authorities' response.

She said new flood defences would be built in several locations in the north and east of the capital.

In neighbouring Cambodia, the toll from the country's worst floods in over a decade reached 207, including 83 children, a disaster official there said. Vietnam has reported 24 deaths from flooding in the Mekong Delta.

Vast swathes of rice paddy have been damaged or destroyed in Southeast Asia as a result of the floods.

In Thailand the floods have damaged the homes or livelihoods of millions of people, particularly farmers, across about three quarters of the country's provinces.

Huge efforts are now under way to stop the waters from reaching low-lying Bangkok, home to 12 million people, with prevention measures including sandbags along the Chao Phraya river.

"We're confident that Bangkok is still in control. The situation is normal," said Narong Jirasubkunakorn, a senior official at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

"We have 113 monitoring stations watching the overflow situation. As of now, every station reported a normal level."

He said water was being allowed through the city's canals and pumped out to sea to try to ease the situation in provinces north of the capital that have been badly affected, with water several metres deep in places.

In Thailand's ancient capital Ayutthaya, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) upriver of the capital, historic temples have been swamped and a large industrial estate, home to a slew of Japanese electronics and auto parts makers including car giant Honda, has been flooded.

A large amount of run-off water is expected to reach Bangkok in mid-October, while high tides will make it harder for the floods to flow out to sea, but the authorities said they were confident they could cope.

"The time we will have to watch carefully is the middle of the month and around the end of the month when the sea level will be high, but I think Bangkok will be just fine," said Narong.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-10-11

[taichiplanet]

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who has described the situation as a "serious crisis," said the kingdom had two days before the arrival of the next tropical depression, but insisted the situation was under control.

"It is not necessary to announce disaster zones because we still can handle it," she told reporters

Gee, i'd hate to see what her idea of a disaster is!

[webfact]

stop that bickering and flaming now or I must stop it

several posts removed

/Admin

[scotbeve]

Indeed, let the government get on with this HUGE task at hand before shooting them down.

[whybother]

Indeed, let the government get on with this HUGE task at hand before shooting them down.

It would have been good if they had started a couple weeks earlier than they did.

[rubl]

Indeed, let the government get on with this HUGE task at hand before shooting them down.

PM Yingluck on Sunday said "There's just too much water", now "it's serious but we can handle". Bangkok governor warns parts may be flooded, NakhonSawan flooded, Ayutthaya only reachable by boat, Bangkok next? Sure, let them get on with whatever they're doing. I guess that's why Sunday PM Yingluck "ordered government agencies to prepare to evacuate people, as measures to prevent flooding were not working."

With all the conflicting statements of government officials I'm reminded of the story of the man who fell from the Empire State Building who said "I'm still fine" passing the eighth floor.

[whybother]

Indeed, let the government get on with this HUGE task at hand before shooting them down.

PM Yingluck on Sunday said "There's just too much water", now "it's serious but we can handle". Bangkok governor warns parts may be flooded, NakhonSawan flooded, Ayutthaya only reachable by boat, Bangkok next? Sure, let them get on with whatever they're doing. I guess that's why Sunday PM Yingluck "ordered government agencies to prepare to evacuate people, as measures to prevent flooding were not working."

With all the conflicting statements of government officials I'm reminded of the story of the man who fell from the Empire State Building who said "I'm still fine" passing the eighth floor.

But everything is going to be OK, because:

"It is not necessary to announce disaster zones because we still can handle it," she told reporters

[scotbeve]

Indeed, let the government get on with this HUGE task at hand before shooting them down.

It would have been good if they had started a couple weeks earlier than they did.

Whybother,

Let's look at the devastating March - April 11' floods (albeit on a much smaller scale) in Surat Thani and the then governments "quick" response....

Approx. 4,000 to 10,000 people had lost their homes, land, and personal belongings. Roads, bridges, and basic infrastructure were cut. As of late-April, many still did not have a place to live, and were seeking shelter in temples, schools, and makeshift tents at higher elevations. More effort was done with volunteers. Shall I mention the cans of rotten fish given during the relief effort then?

Ergo, a month later people were not being cared enough for by the government of the day for at least one MONTH. So, multiply this disaster by 1,000 and the quick response of all government, volunteers, and donations and I think you'll see that any way you look at it, this present government is working a lot faster than the last.

Sour grapes should be overlooked and more effort into relief praise and raising the morale of the MILLIONS of people affected by staying positive. There hasn't been flooding of this magnitude ever (it's still on the way to Bangkok remember....) 42' , 83' ,& 2005 IMO, were small compared to what is coming to BKK....

Why don't we all stop this immature bickering and do something useful. Leave the <deleted>' politics out of it..... I'm volunteering my time and made donations (directly to the non-sponsored flood relief funds) of 50K Baht. Any of you other TV readers done this yet?

[scotbeve]

On the National Radio... a few minutes ago

Bhumibol dam is still releasing water even though the dam is no longer full and has not had any heavy rainfall in it's catchment area for several days...

Why is water still being released? That water has now reached Nakorn Sawan province bringing the level higher....

The Ping river level in Chiang Mai has come down and no more flooding is expected from the Ping.

[otherstuff1957]

That's a very good question... Radar & weather forecasts both show that there is fairly low chance of rain in the northwest for the next few days, while the forecast for rain in central Thailand is fairly high.

Thai Metrological Dept.