The Thai Flood Situation Is Critical, So Why Not Tell People?

[Bkkorupcountry]

it is obvious that the Thai flood situation is critical. The people that are concerned and that have the financial means will have already left or have made plans to evacuate. Just what is the government expected to do in this case? BKK has an approximate population of 10 million and the metropolitan area has approximately 15 million people. It is impossible to evacuate and relocate this many people. Imagine ifonly a few million people in Bangkok had to relocate out of the city. Where would they go? How would they be housed and cared for? How would the evacuation be managed? Ever seen a Thai mob in panic mode? Does anyone want to contemplate tens of thousands rushing evacuation trains and buses? What happens if Bangkok shuts down? Thailand cannot manage, nor withstand a shutdown of Bangkok. The country would erupt in civil disorder.

One can wag a finger at "officals" , but the unfortunate partt of catastrophe management is that it is often better to leave large populations where they are and to try and calm the public. I hope Bangkok is spared as the results would devastate the country and result in unpleasant social conditions that could make life very difficult for foreign residents. I've experienced the terror and unpredictability of large population panic and I don't wish that experience on anyone.

Break out your amulets and pray that Bangkok is saved.

Thats one of the first sensible things i have seen you post, and i find myself actually agreeing with you... Guess you changed your brand of morning coffee or something today

I have always found GK's post sensible, balanced and without emotional prejudice.

[DocN]

it is obvious that the Thai flood situation is critical. The people that are concerned and that have the financial means will have already left or have made plans to evacuate. Just what is the government expected to do in this case? BKK has an approximate population of 10 million and the metropolitan area has approximately 15 million people. It is impossible to evacuate and relocate this many people. Imagine ifonly a few million people in Bangkok had to relocate out of the city. Where would they go? How would they be housed and cared for? How would the evacuation be managed? Ever seen a Thai mob in panic mode? Does anyone want to contemplate tens of thousands rushing evacuation trains and buses? What happens if Bangkok shuts down? Thailand cannot manage, nor withstand a shutdown of Bangkok. The country would erupt in civil disorder.

One can wag a finger at "officals" , but the unfortunate partt of catastrophe management is that it is often better to leave large populations where they are and to try and calm the public. I hope Bangkok is spared as the results would devastate the country and result in unpleasant social conditions that could make life very difficult for foreign residents. I've experienced the terror and unpredictability of large population panic and I don't wish that experience on anyone.

Break out your amulets and pray that Bangkok is saved.

Thats one of the first sensible things i have seen you post, and i find myself actually agreeing with you... Guess you changed your brand of morning coffee or something today

I have always found GK's post sensible, balanced and without emotional prejudice.

But does that matter? You are not against YS per se...that means you are for her! That means you are not sensible...

[Ned]

Watching the Thai tv at the moment...( 12.30 Wednesday afternoon) News that floodwaters are still rising way to the north of Bangkok..... in Uthai Thani!! All that water's got to make its way to Ayutthaya and then you know where.....

[animatic]

More strikingly perhaps, the Thai science minister Virachai Virameteekul said he had ordered the construction of 10,000 bamboo rafts to "help the people".

-- John Sparks 2010-10-19

Follow John Sparks on Twitter: @C4JohnSparks

Dear John,

The Thai Science Minister is the famous ship-propellers-can-impact-a-swollen-flooded-river, Pheu Thai Party MP Plodprasop.

Virachai was Science Minister in the previous Democrat Cabinet.

Buchholz

I seem to remember some years back, I think during the administration of the former PM Thaksin, that there was a guy in charge of the CM Night Safari, who was rumored to be selling zebra steaks, in a Night Safari area restaurant, from animals who had died before their time. I seem to remember his name was Plodprasop. Would/could this be the same guy???

One and the same... but not sure about zebra. How about a roast tenderloin of lion, though?

Pheu Thai Party-list MP and former Chiang Mai Night Safari Project Director, Plodprasop Suraswadi

Chiang Mai Safari: Rare Animals On The Menu At Zoo, Eat lion, tiger, elephant, giraffe meat

CHIANG MAI: -- Visitors offered daily buffet of lion, tiger, elephant and giraffe meat; conservation groups outraged. Lovers of "wild" cuisine are in for a treat when Chiang Mai's Night Safari opens next year, Project Director Plodprasop Suraswadi said yesterday. Visitors to the park's Vareekunchorn restaurant will have the option of tucking in to an "Exotic Buffet" of tiger, lion, elephant and giraffe, for just Bt4,500 a head.

http://www.thaivisa....post__p__549707

They say cream rises to the top,

but it seems also that scum will float on top,

and steal the air from all below killing the pond ecology.

Maybe next job will be Minister of Morality?

[animatic]

it is obvious that the Thai flood situation is critical. The people that are concerned and that have the financial means will have already left or have made plans to evacuate. Just what is the government expected to do in this case? BKK has an approximate population of 10 million and the metropolitan area has approximately 15 million people. It is impossible to evacuate and relocate this many people. Imagine ifonly a few million people in Bangkok had to relocate out of the city. Where would they go? How would they be housed and cared for? How would the evacuation be managed? Ever seen a Thai mob in panic mode? Does anyone want to contemplate tens of thousands rushing evacuation trains and buses? What happens if Bangkok shuts down? Thailand cannot manage, nor withstand a shutdown of Bangkok. The country would erupt in civil disorder.

One can wag a finger at "officals" , but the unfortunate partt of catastrophe management is that it is often better to leave large populations where they are and to try and calm the public. I hope Bangkok is spared as the results would devastate the country and result in unpleasant social conditions that could make life very difficult for foreign residents. I've experienced the terror and unpredictability of large population panic and I don't wish that experience on anyone.

Break out your amulets and pray that Bangkok is saved.

Thats one of the first sensible things i have seen you post, and i find myself actually agreeing with you... Guess you changed your brand of morning coffee or something today

I have always found GK's post sensible, balanced and without emotional prejudice.

Spin wasted, nothing more.

The reasons panic might ensue is because the populace have been misinformed gravely and repeatedly, and are then taken by surprise.

Forewarned is forearmed and the government has dropped the ball.

This doesn't mean the people don't HAVE TO make a move to deal with it.

Thais in general tend to pull together in a crisis, the common man he knows they have to help their neighbors because the puyai class rarely is useful.

2-3 million people displaced is a tragedy, but they will find places to get to for shelter. It's not like every inch of Bangkok will be inundated.

Edited October 19, 2011 by animatic

[animatic]

Rafts...10,000 rafts out of how many people affected? Is this the best they can do? This photo is making its rounds right now...military rafts versus PT made rafts.

Perhaps the Pheu Thai government rafts aren't rafts at all, but are instead...

Mr Plodprasop said the Science and Technology was studying a plan to build floating houses

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4720165

from the thread on 5,000 boots for 2,400,000 flood victims

I wonder if these floating houses come equipped with propellers?

No, but all those condoms they sent last week

can be blown up and used to float them.

Edited October 19, 2011 by animatic

[YellowFeverCAD]

oh yes the Thaksin Family Dynasty were the ones that left the taps on causing the floods. The red shirts are hindering efforts to help. What dribble. There was a previous government who had a lot more time to plan ahead and put measures in place for the likelyhood of extreme floods but they did nothing sat back with the attitude we will get around to it tommorrow if tommorrow ever comes.

Goodness, so the current gov't could have done nothing better than they have done and it's all the fault of the previous gov't that was in power for a couple of years with two major Red Shirt protests stuck right in the middle.. of course it can't possibly have been looked at during the what 5 or 6 years that the various Thaksin gov'ts were in power before that as well could it?

Your argument is actually quite insulting to anybody with an IQ above 80

[Bkkorupcountry]

it is obvious that the Thai flood situation is critical. The people that are concerned and that have the financial means will have already left or have made plans to evacuate. Just what is the government expected to do in this case? BKK has an approximate population of 10 million and the metropolitan area has approximately 15 million people. It is impossible to evacuate and relocate this many people. Imagine ifonly a few million people in Bangkok had to relocate out of the city. Where would they go? How would they be housed and cared for? How would the evacuation be managed? Ever seen a Thai mob in panic mode? Does anyone want to contemplate tens of thousands rushing evacuation trains and buses? What happens if Bangkok shuts down? Thailand cannot manage, nor withstand a shutdown of Bangkok. The country would erupt in civil disorder.

One can wag a finger at "officals" , but the unfortunate partt of catastrophe management is that it is often better to leave large populations where they are and to try and calm the public. I hope Bangkok is spared as the results would devastate the country and result in unpleasant social conditions that could make life very difficult for foreign residents. I've experienced the terror and unpredictability of large population panic and I don't wish that experience on anyone.

Break out your amulets and pray that Bangkok is saved.

Thats one of the first sensible things i have seen you post, and i find myself actually agreeing with you... Guess you changed your brand of morning coffee or something today

I have always found GK's post sensible, balanced and without emotional prejudice.

But does that matter? You are not against YS per se...that means you are for her! That means you are not sensible...

Wow!!! Your logic is mind blowing!! I vote you to be the Minister of Exceptional Logic (something that Thailand desperately needs, I must confess)

[arnoldjr]

Time for a crackdown on flooding perhaps?

[drdoom6996]

Yeah that's right, don't tell anybody and blame it on the weather radar that can't blame back. What a ridicules statement, "my weather radar is old and that caused the flood". But what will they do with the people that got caught and didn't panic do to a lack of information. TIT

[thaicbr]

Well looking at the TV Yingluck is standing on stage accepting donations for the flood relief..... Ahh after an hour has just finished.. The most vomit invoking moment was when the Shinwatra clan were all on stage showing their donation (which was sizeable) to ooohhhs and ahhhss from the audience.

Edited October 19, 2011 by thaicbr

[Buchholz]

Watching the Thai tv at the moment...( 12.30 Wednesday afternoon) News that floodwaters are still rising way to the north of Bangkok..... in Uthai Thani!! All that water's got to make its way to Ayutthaya and then you know where.....

Ayutthaya video from yesterday would indicate it's had enough already...

[tim73]

Are those temporary sand bag dams actually making things even worse? Some are saying that instead of quick flow of water to sea with widespread flash floods, now the water will stay weeks in many suburbs, destroying houses, cars etc. permanently. They might as well as demolish right away the outer suburbs nearby Bangkok.

All this because the rich elite does not want to damage their precious houses and shopping malls?

Edited October 19, 2011 by tim73

[MunterHunter]

Are those temporary sand bag dams actually making things even worse? Some are saying that instead of quick flow of water to sea with widespread flash floods, now the water will stay weeks in many suburbs, destroying houses, cars etc. permanently. They might as well as demolish right away the outer suburbs nearby Bangkok.

All this because the rich elite does not want to damage their precious houses and shopping malls?

Yeah cos the rich only want their shopping malls...

... nothing to do with affecting 14 million people, potentially destroying key infrastructure and rendering the government (even more) useless, nothing to do with the mass panic or wide spread looting that could result from the inner city being under water.

Really, its just about the shopping malls :jerk:

[metisdead]

A post has been removed as a poster had deleted quoted post headers as he had reached the maximum number of nested quotes allowed leading to misunderstanding of who posted what. When deleting quoted posts to meet the nested quotes criteria, be careful so as to delete individual posts while keeping the quote headers intact. When replying to certain parts of a post, learn how to use the Insert quotation feature, just copy the content you wish to respond to and paste the content in between the quote brackets.

[tim73]

Are those temporary sand bag dams actually making things even worse? Some are saying that instead of quick flow of water to sea with widespread flash floods, now the water will stay weeks in many suburbs, destroying houses, cars etc. permanently. They might as well as demolish right away the outer suburbs nearby Bangkok.

All this because the rich elite does not want to damage their precious houses and shopping malls?

Yeah cos the rich only want their shopping malls...

... nothing to do with affecting 14 million people, potentially destroying key infrastructure and rendering the government (even more) useless, nothing to do with the mass panic or wide spread looting that could result from the inner city being under water.

Really, its just about the shopping malls :jerk:

The infrastructure is already <snip!> up, hundreds of key factories under water and will stay under water for long time. Temporary modest flooding is not that a big problem than weeks of deep flooding. Office building or shopping mall flooding is nothing compared to flooding of factory with robots, clean rooms and precision machines.

Edited October 19, 2011 by metisdead
Expletive removed.

[siampolee]

PM denies govt covering up flood information; urges others not to play political games, join those fighting flood problem

Would these remarks be directed at Jutuporn and his fellow Red Shirt comrades by any chance ?

Edited October 19, 2011 by siampolee

[hungryhippo]

it is obvious that the Thai flood situation is critical. The people that are concerned and that have the financial means will have already left or have made plans to evacuate. Just what is the government expected to do in this case? BKK has an approximate population of 10 million and the metropolitan area has approximately 15 million people. It is impossible to evacuate and relocate this many people. Imagine ifonly a few million people in Bangkok had to relocate out of the city. Where would they go? How would they be housed and cared for? How would the evacuation be managed? Ever seen a Thai mob in panic mode? Does anyone want to contemplate tens of thousands rushing evacuation trains and buses? What happens if Bangkok shuts down? Thailand cannot manage, nor withstand a shutdown of Bangkok. The country would erupt in civil disorder.

One can wag a finger at "officals" , but the unfortunate partt of catastrophe management is that it is often better to leave large populations where they are and to try and calm the public. I hope Bangkok is spared as the results would devastate the country and result in unpleasant social conditions that could make life very difficult for foreign residents. I've experienced the terror and unpredictability of large population panic and I don't wish that experience on anyone.

Break out your amulets and pray that Bangkok is saved.

This is such BS american thinking.. Lie to the public, create a disaster because you didn't inform people of the real situation to save face, treat the general population like a bunch of idiots. No, this is Thailand, not the US.

Informing people doesn't create panic, it lets people prepare and save their property. This is such moronic style of thinking that I cant believe you even suggested it. All one has to do is look at how that's turned out time and time again in the US.

Edited October 19, 2011 by hungryhippo

[WarpSpeed]

The Thai army together with hundreds of volunteers has launched a massive rescue operation in Nava Nakorn, but it risks being overwhelmed by the sheer scale of problem.

Hmmmm and some here would have you believe the military is not being utilized and if they were they could hold back the Red Sea ...

[Chang_paarp]

Disasters happen. How they are handled is the measure of those in charge. In this case it is not reflecting well on those who are supposed to be showing leadership. The finger pointing can wait till the water has abated.

[WarpSpeed]

it is obvious that the Thai flood situation is critical. The people that are concerned and that have the financial means will have already left or have made plans to evacuate. Just what is the government expected to do in this case? BKK has an approximate population of 10 million and the metropolitan area has approximately 15 million people. It is impossible to evacuate and relocate this many people. Imagine ifonly a few million people in Bangkok had to relocate out of the city. Where would they go? How would they be housed and cared for? How would the evacuation be managed? Ever seen a Thai mob in panic mode? Does anyone want to contemplate tens of thousands rushing evacuation trains and buses? What happens if Bangkok shuts down? Thailand cannot manage, nor withstand a shutdown of Bangkok. The country would erupt in civil disorder.

One can wag a finger at "officals" , but the unfortunate partt of catastrophe management is that it is often better to leave large populations where they are and to try and calm the public. I hope Bangkok is spared as the results would devastate the country and result in unpleasant social conditions that could make life very difficult for foreign residents. I've experienced the terror and unpredictability of large population panic and I don't wish that experience on anyone.

Break out your amulets and pray that Bangkok is saved.

This is such BS american thinking.. Lie to the public, create a disaster because you didn't inform people of the real situation to save face, treat the general population like a bunch of idiots. No, this is Thailand, not the US.

Informing people doesn't create panic, it lets people prepare and save their property. This is such moronic style of thinking that I cant believe you even suggested it.

Yep Kid, panic is never a good thing.. The sad truth is that most can't handle the truth, it's been demonstrated on here time and time again.

Sometimes it's necessary to avoid the whole truth to protect the masses from themselves..

Edited October 19, 2011 by WarpSpeed

[ES1]

Guess they underestimated the number of propellers needed in the water to speed up the flow of water.

[WarpSpeed]

Guess they underestimated the number of propellers needed in the water to speed up the flow of water.

Yes it seems that way, I don't see the humor in it though .. You taking joy in the failure.

Edited October 19, 2011 by WarpSpeed

[MunterHunter]

The infrastructure is already <snip!> up, hundreds of key factories under water and will stay under water for long time. Temporary modest flooding is not that a big problem than weeks of deep flooding. Office building or shopping mall flooding is nothing compared to flooding of factory with robots, clean rooms and precision machines.

I am not denying the damage done to the industrial sectors outside of Bangkok. I am attacking your ludicrous view point that Bangkok is being saved only because the 'Elite' care about their homes and shopping malls... if that is your belief (and not a troll post) then you seriously need to put the crack pipe down for a while

[wana]

i doubt water can effectively be stopped on its way to lower ground

it isnnt going to evaporate ,building sand walls is probably pissing in the wind trying to hold back so many million tons of water on its way to the lowest place it can get to

every canal and drain should should be opened /cleared to get the water out of the dangerzones but its probably too late for that now

will be very interesting to see how bangkok survives a flood if it ever happens

[bangkokmaco]

- - - - - - -

Break out your amulets and pray that Bangkok is saved.

- - - - - - -

Think the Thais should swallow their pride and use US technology here. Fly in Rick Perry!!

Perry can hold a Pray for Rain in National Stadium, just like he did in the Astrodome.

Texas is still in a drought - maybe he can have the same short-term effects in LOS.

Edited October 19, 2011 by bangkokmaco

[tim73]

The infrastructure is already <snip!> up, hundreds of key factories under water and will stay under water for long time. Temporary modest flooding is not that a big problem than weeks of deep flooding. Office building or shopping mall flooding is nothing compared to flooding of factory with robots, clean rooms and precision machines.

I am not denying the damage done to the industrial sectors outside of Bangkok. I am attacking your ludicrous view point that Bangkok is being saved only because the 'Elite' care about their homes and shopping malls... if that is your belief (and not a troll post) then you seriously need to put the crack pipe down for a while

You must be the new guy. The elite does not give a **** about peasants and poor folks unless it is vote buying time.

[MunterHunter]

You must be the new guy. The elite does not give a **** about peasants and poor folks unless it is vote buying time.

Seems like my crack joke is closer the truth than i thought.

If you think Bangkok will be saved only because of the Elites Homes and Shopping Malls, its defiantly time to put the pipe down

[tim73]

i doubt water can effectively be stopped on its way to lower ground

it isnnt going to evaporate ,building sand walls is probably pissing in the wind trying to hold back so many million tons of water on its way to the lowest place it can get to

every canal and drain should should be opened /cleared to get the water out of the dangerzones but its probably too late for that now

will be very interesting to see how bangkok survives a flood if it ever happens

Exactly, if there is not enough drainage, sand bag dams just make things worse by collecting the water until the dam bursts. Then do it all over again on the lower ground. Except the water is even more dirty.

[Bkkorupcountry]

Disasters happen. How they are handled is the measure of those in charge. In this case it is not reflecting well on those who are supposed to be showing leadership. The finger pointing can wait till the water has abated.

What a refreshing post, compared to some of the dribble we have been unfortunate enough to read.