Thai PM To Ask Bangkok To Open All Floodgates

[DocN]

Tens of Thousands of Bangkok citizens will die, when they are now going flood Bangkok! The PM is obviously totally in sane!

How will she supply food and water to the 15-20 million people in Bangkok. The shelves of water has been almost empty for weeks already, so not possible to keep a stock in the home! And financiallyThailand will go bankrupt.

To late for "State of Emergency". Only a coup will be able to save Thailand and Bangkok now.

And how will that help? The Army sends in a battalion of thirsty generals? Jesus, get real!

[4dalonghaul]

why would you post a comment like that? Its not as if they crank open 200 flood gates and a tsunami wall of water comes raging out to kill everyone in the path. In the government's defense, the do nothing option would result is crushed walls, water toppling over and the tsunami type of impacts. IE - deaths would occur. So give the government credit for picking the least of two evils and having the gutts to make a very tough decision. Its a touch decision for those who have never been in that type of position. This is a 150 yr flood situation, the government can not build walls high enough to protect the entire city. In the end Bangkok is built in a low lying area, the government developed canal and a system to deal with a 100 yr flood. its rained alot, they done a good job mitigating for 3 months, but you can't always beat mother nature

okay... when? people are going to walk on the streets and suddenly being hit by a fast and heavy flow of water. Very smart!

[GilesPeach]

Seems silly to order this now especially since people up country had to endure flooding misery for a month plus now. Why not moderate this in the beginning instead of hitting BKK with it all at once now with backed up water?

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

My thoughts exactly. All this sand bagging and blocking the waters so they can not drained has only worsened the problem. If they'd done this from the beginning there is a fair chance the damage to the industrial estates and rural areas would have been lessened too.

[englishinsiam]

They aren't going to open full force to allow Bankokians to Surf down Sukhumvit. I'm sure it will be a gradual opening and Bangkok will see a steady increase in water flow.

Until now they hae been channelling through Chachoengsao and my wifes family have been flooded out for the last 2 weeks.

These are poor people who need their land dry to earn a living. So at least the Gov't are trying something different now.

I am by no means a Thaksin fan or indeed a lefty red but this is one act by the Gov't I agree with.

[Moonrakers]

Why now? Well, the run off is only reaching Bangkok today, up until now it was still sploshing about Phatum Thani, there was nothing much to drain until last night/this morning.

So why were the flood gates closed?

[gamini]

Had influential people been stopped felling trees up North this would not have happened. I beleive that there are now only half the forests left in Thailand compared to 50 years ago. All the governments in power knew very well that the massive destruction of our forests causes flooding and did nothing to stop it. They call the flooding a natural disaster when it is in fact a man made one.

[pogal]

New advertising campaign opportunity "Bangkok, the Venice of the East"

Here's what she should do. And keep the city flooded, until they change the PM.....

Actually I think this is the picture you were looking for...

[lazygourmet]

Great news, finally this should have done earlier. I hope it will ease the pressure where i am. We are about to flood. The streets in the village are flooded.

If they dont do this the water will build up and Bangkok will be flooded anyway.

+1

[4dalonghaul]

a second the comment yes its logical. and as an american, thailand has managed this 100 times better than most countries. this is not easy, especially from the monday morning quarterbacks sitting having a beer a 1000 am

you have to relieve pressure, so they do it systematically.

Ask or order? Either way,please can she explain the logic behind this?

There's no logic behind it unless she wants to see where the water will overflow which is not really clear apparently.

After opening they can close those gates again right?

Of course there is a logic, since the water cannot disappear or evaporate for itself, it has to find its way towards the sea.

Before insulting Thai authorities, please try to learn more about the topic and the situation.

Thailand has managed it 10 times better than USA or Japan or European countries have managed similar situations.

[rogerdee123]

Has a city the size of Bangkok ever been flooded before? I hope the powers that be know what they're doing.

Bangkok has been flooded by much smaller amounts of water before .... I've seen a meter of water on Silom and Rama IV roads. But that was a flash flood situation that drained in a couple of days. This is a deluge that will last too long.

Bangkok is a BIG city with .. 15 -20 million people. There isn't enough food and (potable) water.

From Wikipedia:

Bangkok has an official population of 9,100,000 residents, while the greater Bangkok area contains some 11,971,000 (January 2008).^[4]

Certainly at least 8 million short of the 20 million you are estimating. Only about the 50th biggest city in the world.

Well if you continued reading the next sentence in that paragraph you quoted in Wikipedia you will see this ....... "The city is now home to nearly 3-4 million illegal foreigners. There are large numbers of workers who reside outside the metropolitan area and travel into the city for day jobs. The population swells to 15-20 million in the city during the day" ..... and those are 2008 figures. If "only 8 Million" it would still be a d_mn big urban disaster for which there has been (surprise surprise) no preparation for. And it borders on 'criminal' to intentionally flood a populated area like this if it can be avoided.

But I hope that this news item isn't true.

[Fookhaht]

Tens of Thousands of Bangkok citizens will die, when they are now going flood Bangkok! The PM is obviously totally in sane!

....

To late for "State of Emergency". Only a coup will be able to save Thailand and Bangkok now.

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

[EnSvenskTiger]

Some hilarious back seat driving here.

Who knew thaivisa has so many flood control experts?

It doesn’t stop at that! Hang aroundfor a while and you will see a large gang of Nobel Prize Literates inpolitics and macro economic.

And all this from a BARSTOOL!

Amazing Expats!

[elcent]

it only will make sense when they can stop the flow days before the next high tide. Otherwise Bangkok will be in big troubles. I think they're not capable to stop and release the flow at time schedule which is probably the only solution. When the next high tide sets in there's no flow to the ocean.

[Thaifever]

The water has to go ! they have to help the water to go, to open the way , to make in emergency new canals using explosives if necessary to help the water to avoid important and critical areas.

The water has to leave, it's not good to block the water, the water level rises because it can't leave. Help the water to leave using non urban and non industrial areas, open ways to make it flow to the sea!

Actually I think the initial plan was to block it and then let it ................evaporate............

LMFAO!!!!!!!

[volk666]

Why now? Well, the run off is only reaching Bangkok today, up until now it was still sploshing about Phatum Thani, there was nothing much to drain until last night/this morning.

So why were the flood gates closed?

They are always closed, the difference between inside and outside is still only in centimeters, the run-off has just started arriving.

[dmcguire70]

Damned if she does and damned if she doesn't(Pardon the pun) She lets the water slowly rise ,she gets criticised,then she make a decision to let the water flow through the city and into the ocean and gets condemned again. Its one thing for all you armchair critics to do just that ,however I'd like to see just how many of you would handle the situation if the onus was on you hmmm? Its a bit like pulling off a band-aid just rip it off and get a bit of short time pain then lasting relief rather than just procrastinating and twiddling your thumbs.I for one, am relieved that a firm decision has finally been made.

No one ever built a monument for a critic.

Edited October 20, 2011 by dmcguire70

[Toany]

PM coordinating with BMA to open all floodgates to speed up drainage. She asks public not to panic when seeing canal water rise. /via@tulsathit

Phra Khanong canal is part of the main drainage system. Surely is seems mad to park barges across it. This is taken at Soi Phumijit not far from the Chao Phraya

[GilesPeach]

<br>Tens of Thousands of Bangkok citizens will die, when they are now going flood Bangkok!  The PM is obviously totally in sane!<br><br>How will she supply food and water to the 15-20 million people in Bangkok. The shelves of water has been almost empty for weeks already, so not possible to keep a stock in the home!  And financially Thailand will go bankrupt.<br><br>To late for "State of Emergency".  Only a coup will be able to save Thailand and Bangkok now.<br>

<br><br>Don't be a panic mongering moron. If this were a hollywood movie you'd be the dude that gets knocked off first.<br><br>Things will get worse, but it's far from the end of Thailand. The flooding will last for a few days at most. Many of us will get smelly, a little thirsty, and rather irritable, but mass anihilation from thirst and disease I think not.<br><br>Sometimes things have to be at their worst to bring out the best in people. It waits to be seen if this will change much long term in Thailand, but right now you are seeing a lot of people working together to help each other and prepare as best as possible.<br><br>Personally, I've got dry goods, a bath I can fill with water at a moments notice, batteries, candles, and most importantly, a water filter which I am busily using to fill the myriad of containers I have laying around. Relying on bottled water is wrong on every level, flood or no flood. It doesn't take much to prepare (except for the bath, which was just good luck).<br><br><br>

[Soi Sauce]

look on the bright side. Green Day can sing a song for us afterwards

cried to my brother on the telephone,

how long now?

Until the clouds unroll and you come home,

the line went.

But the shadows still remain since your descent,

you're descent.

Very apt.

Edited October 20, 2011 by Soi Sauce

[kingoak]

The Bangkok Floods in 1942 ............is this what Bangkok will be like soon???

[AleG]

For goodness sake! Those calling for a coup over this get a grip!

A) It's not going to stop the water from going downhill.

As disorganized as the government action has been, getting a coup on would only make thing more chaotic.

Geez...

[meom]

a second the comment yes its logical. and as an american, thailand has managed this 100 times better than most countries. this is not easy, especially from the monday morning quarterbacks sitting having a beer a 1000 am

you have to relieve pressure, so they do it systematically.

Ask or order? Either way,please can she explain the logic behind this?

There's no logic behind it unless she wants to see where the water will overflow which is not really clear apparently.

After opening they can close those gates again right?

Of course there is a logic, since the water cannot disappear or evaporate for itself, it has to find its way towards the sea.

Before insulting Thai authorities, please try to learn more about the topic and the situation.

Thailand has managed it 10 times better than USA or Japan or European countries have managed similar situations.

Then why not do this a couple of days ago when low tide set in?

[webfact]

PM seeks to release water into sea through parts of Bangkok

BANGKOK, Oct 20 - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Thursday conceded that the government is now seeking to release a bulk of floodwaters into the sea through areas which will have a minimum impact on the citizen.

The premier made her remarks on the water management as floodwaters surrounded the Thai capital and overflowed Klong Prapa, Bangkok’s main source of tap water.

Ms Yingluck said sluice gates have been opened to solve the problem which is now under control, while urging the public to remain vigilant.

Regarding the flow of huge amounts of floodwater from the North, the premier said the government must find routes to release the water. She said the more height added to the temporary flood prevention dykes, the higher the flood level overall.

The premier noted she is now considering which areas will produce the least impact on the population if water is allowed to pass through the city.

When asked to assess the amount of flooding in Bangkok, Ms Yingluck said the operations will be called "releasing the water into the sea" in appropriate amounts which drainage channels can handle. She explained that she has already instructed Bangkok's Department of Drainage and Sewerage to speed up draining water through the capital.

The premier called on the public to closely monitor the situation, especially those who live near Klong Prapa.

The premier noted that all existing dams and "monkey cheeks", (excavated water detention works) are insufficient to hold huge amounts of water, so the authorities now must drain floodwater via the western and eastern parts of Bangkok as much as possible. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-10-20

[bkk_mike]

Is it that they're simply opening the floodgates to fill up the canals where they'd been avoiding doing that up to now because we were still having thunderstorms, and if the canals had been completely full, Bangkok would have flooded just from the rain...

i.e. If they are just intending to fill up the canals in Bangkok to almost overflowing point to let some water out from Phatum Thani / Nonthaburi, it actually makes some sense. (So long as they close them when the canals are full, and not when people start phoning to say they're flooded...

[reggaebkk]

Taksin would have told her to say "I've decided to use this opportunity to clean-up the city for free" ...

I hope somebody's planned a committee to evacuate all these poor rats and roaches... poor things won't have anywhere to nest.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

So far, we've seen a couple of tweets from third parties talking about what the Governor of BKK and the BMA may do... Haven't seen anything direct from them, as yet...

And, I don't think the PM can ORDER Bangkok to do anything... Ask, yes, Plead, yes... But I'm not sure about order...

In the end, it depends on how they do what they're planning to do... if they do it... If they can manage a controlled release that allows moderate amounts of water to flow thru, that might work. But if they're talking about suddenly just throwing everything open and letting nature take it's course, that seems headed for real problems.

Stay tuned... and stay dry...

[buzz]

I hope all of Miss Yinglucks property developments are safe when the levies break ... i mean, this will be a set-back for the tax breaks offered to all the poor people looking to buy their first new homes under her new scheme ... :jap:

[Fookhaht]

For goodness sake! Those calling for a coup over this get a grip!

A) It's not going to stop the water from going downhill.

As disorganized as the government action has been, getting a coup on would only make thing more chaotic.

Geez...

Calling for a coup can only come from myopic hindsight. Did the coup improve things the last go-around? Even the coup-makers publicly admitted failure.

[siampolee]

Stop obsessing about Thaksin. He isnt God

Try telling him, his family and his acolytes that

[pnm]

Has a city the size of Bangkok ever been flooded before? I hope the powers that be know what they're doing.

Bangkok has been flooded by much smaller amounts of water before .... I've seen a meter of water on Silom and Rama IV roads. But that was a flash flood situation that drained in a couple of days. This is a deluge that will last too long.

Bangkok is a BIG city with .. 15 -20 million people. There isn't enough food and (potable) water.

From Wikipedia:

Bangkok has an official population of 9,100,000 residents, while the greater Bangkok area contains some 11,971,000 (January 2008).^[4]

Certainly at least 8 million short of the 20 million you are estimating. Only about the 50th biggest city in the world.

Well if you continued reading the next sentence in that paragraph you quoted in Wikipedia you will see this ....... "The city is now home to nearly 3-4 million illegal foreigners. There are large numbers of workers who reside outside the metropolitan area and travel into the city for day jobs. The population swells to 15-20 million in the city during the day" ..... and those are 2008 figures. If "only 8 Million" it would still be a d_mn big urban disaster for which there has been (surprise surprise) no preparation for. And it borders on 'criminal' to intentionally flood a populated area like this if it can be avoided.

But I hope that this news item isn't true.

No doubt it is true and it is the logical thing to do as some have posted.

Good Luck to us all.