Thai PM Tells Bangkok To Move Belongings To Safety

[Arkady]

I have a-lot of vulgarities towards the PM right now.

Put away her picture and zip up. Now.

[siampolee]

Gracious me, seems as if there is a new political group to hand in the picture, " The Onaism" party.

[angeledge]

For those who were not prepared one week ago, this is already too late. There is no drinkin water anywhere and same thing for food.

There's no way the city's dry. People may just have to look a little bit further afield than usual.

You are probably correct ..... for the moment.

But with roads blocked and factories and warehouses flooded, and surrounding vegie and chicken & pig farms flooded .... how will they restock the 7/11's, markets, etc

This is one of the real problems that disasters such as this bring and which need solutions now.

I don't think many people have to be worried about drowning .... the worries are food, water, medical, and losing mobility and communications.

And of course shelter for those who have to evacuate.

Dont go far. Big C and tesco lotus are all out of drinking water and food. 7 Eleven freezers are empty and no refill since a week. some restaurant or street food booth just tell you they can not cook some dishes because they are out of food. Bangkok is safe for the moment but all the suppliers in the north are flooded. As you say, it takes immediate actions.

[ratcatcher]

Since billions of humans have no direct access to purified or bottled water, their only option is to drink whatever is available. They may get stomach upset or have become immune to any infection, but when you are thirsty, you drink what's available.

Since the subject is Bangkok flooding and the lack of bottled water in the stores, the next best thing I think would be to buy a clean,new 20 litre plastic garbage pail and fill it with water drawn from the taps in your residence, assuming you have one. This water can be boiled , assuming you have a kettle or pot. Boiled water is sufficiently safe to keep you alive. As long as the power stays on, with a bit of work, you can boil the water and store in the fridge. Assuming that... etc etc.:jap:

[tim73]

Dont go far. Big C and tesco lotus are all out of drinking water and food. 7 Eleven freezers are empty and no refill since a week. some restaurant or street food booth just tell you they can not cook some dishes because they are out of food. Bangkok is safe for the moment but all the suppliers in the north are flooded. As you say, it takes immediate actions.

I remember reading somewhere that in case of total breakdown of trucking logistics New York City supermarkets etc. would be empty of food and water within a week. It seems Bangkok citizens are experiencing exactly that.

[rogerdee123]

Since billions of humans have no direct access to purified or bottled water, their only option is to drink whatever is available. They may get stomach upset or have become immune to any infection, but when you are thirsty, you drink what's available.

Since the subject is Bangkok flooding and the lack of bottled water in the stores, the next best thing I think would be to buy a clean,new 20 litre plastic garbage pail and fill it with water drawn from the taps in your residence, assuming you have one. This water can be boiled , assuming you have a kettle or pot. Boiled water is sufficiently safe to keep you alive. As long as the power stays on, with a bit of work, you can boil the water and store in the fridge. Assuming that... etc etc.:jap:

The plastic garbage bin is good idea .... if they haven't sold out already ... together with batteries ... cooking gas .... etc etc. If your kitchen is all-electric, don't plan on boiling water or cooking anything.

[Markaew]

PM shuns emergency decree imposition for fear that it will hurt foreign confidence; urges all parties to unit, fight against floods /MCOT

foreign confidence already submegred in meters of Thai water. what is the NEXT priority ?

Hurt foreign confidence? Of course we must first think about what "foreigners" might think before we take any action to protect our citizens who are dying and losing everything. Is this woman for real? Unbelievable she would make this statement pubicly.

Of course thais don't care about what foreigners think, but they should because foreigners keep your economy propped up.

[anterian]

If Bangkok had released the water as it arrived instead of trying to block it, there would have been a few centimetres everywhere instead of 2 metres in a few unlucky places. But this would have meant a few important people getting their feet wet.

Take a 10km by 10km area, that is 100 million square metres, add 1 million cubic metres of water and that is 10cm depth.

[zydeco]

Now, it's finally settled. Call it what you will, misinformation, lies, incompetence, we now know that most everything is going under water.

Next question: How long? How long to dig out? How long for supplies to be trucked in--and out to the suburbs and provinces. And the biggest question of all: if the flooding lasts too long, will people turn nasty and go all Katrina on us?

[Puccini]

If Bangkok had released the water as it arrived instead of trying to block it, there would have been a few centimetres everywhere instead of 2 metres in a few unlucky places. But this would have meant a few important people getting their feet wet.

Take a 10km by 10km area, that is 100 million square metres, add 1 million cubic metres of water and that is 10cm depth.

Word on the street has it that the persons in charge of the hydroelectric dams, engineers of EGAT, wanted to release water from the reservoirs early on but a fugitive former prime minister gave orders to keep them full in order to have plenty of water for his agricultural lands during the dry season.

[fasteddie]

I have a little bit of trouble following the logic here. Factory destruction will NOT hurt investor confidence (???) but an emergency decree that might enable the situation to be better handled WILL (???)

Maybe I am reading things wrongly?

Notice people are not a matter of concern to her. Investors are. Does any one smell a Thaksin?

Even at a time like this, the bleating ''yellow bellies'' just want to make a political point.

She is the Prime Minister of a capitalist country and as such, is rightly concerned about investment!

[block2]

All the water that is about to hit Bangkok has travelled from the far north....that is some distance and it's not going to stop at Bangkok....not for nobody......it is like a inland tsuami....what ever obsticle it meets it either goes through it or round it and it then leaves 1 metre plus of water behind as it progresses..our nearest town Phayuha Khiri is 35 kilometres south of Nakhon Sawan, has been flooded for 3 weeks now and the level has only dropped by a couple of inches in them 3 weeks....so no doubt whatever parts of Bangkok get flooded the water is probably going to stay a while.........wish you all well

[robblok]

All the water that is about to hit Bangkok has travelled from the far north....that is some distance and it's not going to stop at Bangkok....not for nobody......it is like a inland tsuami....what ever obsticle it meets it either goes through it or round it and it then leaves 1 metre plus of water behind as it progresses..our nearest town Phayuha Khiri is 35 kilometres south of Nakhon Sawan, has been flooded for 3 weeks now and the level has only dropped by a couple of inches in them 3 weeks....so no doubt whatever parts of Bangkok get flooded the water is probably going to stay a while.........wish you all well

Im slightly more optimistic, because BKK is close to the sea its easier to loose the water. I am north of BKK and flooded and i hope it wont take weeks, but fear it might. So far the water has only risen not come down. For now it seems stable but i expect more rises.

[qualtrough]

Bangkok is a big city. Which areas could suffer from worst case scenario. CBD for example. She as usual is telling us nothing

Also I find no relevant guiding instruction for residents on how to prepare for the worst.I see people block enterances with sandbags, but does it really help, when water can actually flow from toilets? Is there any source fire information on that?

Does it not occur to you that this is an English language report of an announcement she made, not her full remarks? Question asked and answered.

[HardenedSoul]

The plastic garbage bin is good idea .... if they haven't sold out already ... together with batteries ... cooking gas .... etc etc. If your kitchen is all-electric, don't plan on boiling water or cooking anything.

Don't forget yer tin foil hat and a supply of gold coins.

Seriously, though, expect widespread lawlessness, looting, rape gangs, marauding anti-farang death squads and, if you're a particularly corpulent Caucasian, prepare for your skin to command a high price in the new "Waterworld" economy . . . as a tent covering.

It's the end of the world, people. Make your peace with whichever deities you hold dear for, soon, if some of the idiots on here are to be believed, you will be granted an audience with them.

[TechnikaIII]

I have a little bit of trouble following the logic here. Factory destruction will NOT hurt investor confidence (???) but an emergency decree that might enable the situation to be better handled WILL (???)

Maybe I am reading things wrongly?

What you readly wrongly is of no consequence.

Help with sand bags required. It doesn't matter who you know or don't. Just get out and find a trouble spot.

Good bye .. heading back out.

[lazygourmet]

All the water that is about to hit Bangkok has travelled from the far north....that is some distance and it's not going to stop at Bangkok....not for nobody......it is like a inland tsuami....what ever obsticle it meets it either goes through it or round it and it then leaves 1 metre plus of water behind as it progresses..our nearest town Phayuha Khiri is 35 kilometres south of Nakhon Sawan, has been flooded for 3 weeks now and the level has only dropped by a couple of inches in them 3 weeks....so no doubt whatever parts of Bangkok get flooded the water is probably going to stay a while.........wish you all well

Im slightly more optimistic, because BKK is close to the sea its easier to loose the water. I am north of BKK and flooded and i hope it wont take weeks, but fear it might. So far the water has only risen not come down. For now it seems stable but i expect more rises.

Did you notice that flood level is always rising -quite a lot- at night, then stays more or less stable during daytime?

And it didn't rain for the last few nights... any logical explanation?

[zydeco]

HardenedSoul,

I do in fact have a rather large safety deposit box full of gold and silver coins, some slabbed and rare, in the US. Thanks for reminding others of the value in precious metals as opposed to paper. As for the rest of your message, what do you suppose a couple of million people do after a few days with no drinking water and no sign of anything to eat? I can't imagine it will actually get that bad, especially if authorities go ahead and push the water through now, but if it did, how do you expect people to respond? Fortunately,Thai people have more cohesiveness and moralilty than the Katrina mob--yes, I know that's a pretty low bar to hurdle--but Katrina did show you just how vicious a desperate the masses can be.

Edited October 21, 2011 by zydeco

[robblok]

All the water that is about to hit Bangkok has travelled from the far north....that is some distance and it's not going to stop at Bangkok....not for nobody......it is like a inland tsuami....what ever obsticle it meets it either goes through it or round it and it then leaves 1 metre plus of water behind as it progresses..our nearest town Phayuha Khiri is 35 kilometres south of Nakhon Sawan, has been flooded for 3 weeks now and the level has only dropped by a couple of inches in them 3 weeks....so no doubt whatever parts of Bangkok get flooded the water is probably going to stay a while.........wish you all well

Im slightly more optimistic, because BKK is close to the sea its easier to loose the water. I am north of BKK and flooded and i hope it wont take weeks, but fear it might. So far the water has only risen not come down. For now it seems stable but i expect more rises.

Did you notice that flood level is always rising -quite a lot- at night, then stays more or less stable during daytime?

And it didn't rain for the last few nights... any logical explanation?

No i don't maybe that they close the canals at night because they cant monitor them ? So limiting the amount of draining capacity.

Also i put a mark where the water level this morning was. Now it has only risen 1 maybe 1,5 cm during that time. But i expect water to arrive tonight and wake up in a flooded house.

Only 8 cm to go

[eq2]

[don't they] close the canals at night because they cant monitor them ? So limiting the amount of draining capacity.

No, the canals aren't that sophisticated

Here's a photo I took of where Khlong Prapa starts at Rangsit Canal yesterday. The water is a least a metre on the Rangsit Canal side. As you can see, it's not the kind of gate that they can easily "open and close".

A map with a photos along Rangsit Canal is available here.

I'll be heading to the same canals and will post an update on my blog later today.

Edited October 21, 2011 by eq2

[EarthAlien]

I have a little bit of trouble following the logic here. Factory destruction will NOT hurt investor confidence (???) but an emergency decree that might enable the situation to be better handled WILL (???)

Maybe I am reading things wrongly?

Yes,.. the fundamental problem with your "reading" of things is that your trying to follow "logic" when none exist and nor does it have to because this ain't a land of logic!

That said, you made an excellent point which is highly relevant and makes perfect sense to those of us that possess "logic skills 101" which evidently are absent from the school curriculum and culture here!

[HardenedSoul]

HardenedSoul,

I do in fact have a rather large safety deposit box full of gold and silver coins, some slabbed and rare, in the US. Thanks for reminding others of the value in precious metals as opposed to paper.

I'm a confirmed gold/silver bull too but what medium of exchange would you accept for, say, a Krugerrand upon purchasing a 5 litre bottle of water that's, apparently, about to become equally rare if the board gimps are to be believed?

[anterian]

If Bangkok had released the water as it arrived instead of trying to block it, there would have been a few centimetres everywhere instead of 2 metres in a few unlucky places. But this would have meant a few important people getting their feet wet.

Take a 10km by 10km area, that is 100 million square metres, add 1 million cubic metres of water and that is 10cm depth.

Word on the street has it that the persons in charge of the hydroelectric dams, engineers of EGAT, wanted to release water from the reservoirs early on but a fugitive former prime minister gave orders to keep them full in order to have plenty of water for his agricultural lands during the dry season.

Word on the street is about as reliable and conflicting as the chatter on twitter. There is no ONE cause of this disaster, there are many contributing factors, some could have been avoided with foresight, some in hindsight, some were inevitable. But to attribute it to one individual or even a political grouping is going too far, ultimately this is an act of Nature, not of a "former fugitive prime minister", I assume you mean Thaksin, are you reluctant to use his name?

[SantiSuk]

I suspect more people will be killed chipping out electrical sockets to "move them further up" (following the authorities' advice) than by floodwater.

Play it safe and best of luck everyone in Bangkok.

Edit: If you are in accommodation with a bath (I realise this is not normal for Thai households) iy goes without saying that you should be filling it up now with potable water for drinking/cooking later. You should also be getting a stock of batteries for your battery powered radio for emergency transmission listening (if you have Thai speakers available). Standard flood warning advice in the UK.

Edited October 21, 2011 by SantiSuk

[zydeco]

HardenedSoul,

I do in fact have a rather large safety deposit box full of gold and silver coins, some slabbed and rare, in the US. Thanks for reminding others of the value in precious metals as opposed to paper.

I'm a confirmed gold/silver bull too but what medium of exchange would you accept for, say, a Krugerrand upon purchasing a 5 litre bottle of water that's, apparently, about to become equally rare if the board gimps are to be believed?

At the stage of things you are talking about, the exchange is usually made at the point of a bayonet. But we are far from that state of affairs, I hope. Nonetheless, I am trying to lay low in the village. Whatever happens, I just don't think it's smart to parade around and remind any opportunists of a potential source of supplies with some farang, however meagre they may actually be.

[robokop]

Bangkok is a big city. Which areas could suffer from worst case scenario. CBD for example. She as usual is telling us nothing

I think the dancers at the Go Go Clubs were told to climb higher on the poles

[lounger]

Firstly I am glad the complacent posters in the last few weeks are now having to think. Having said that my experience of living/surviving in a flooded province is that there is more point in relying on your neighbours than rhetoric spouting administrators. For example the local flood barriers were created at 20 cms. The warning was for 2 metres.

There is a certain amount of anger and this is caused by frustration. The outlet is to damage flood walls and let the water escape from your area. I know this sounds insane but a trillion tons( How much? I dont know but I went 10 km in a relief boat without site of land) was released by one guy in Nakon sawan. Apparantly an accident.

the point of this is that whatever people say sabotage is causing the best laid plans to collapse. Not necessarily sabotage in your street but maybe 100 kms away.

Sand bags do help, Some water seeps through but slow enough to bail. We fronted our bags with polythene and fixed it where possible. ( I couldnt find any duct tape anywhere and the local fabric tape is not water proof).

Toilets and drains back up. It is horrendous but after seeing and being with hundreds of people sitting in temp cover on roads week after week with no regular supplies or toilet facilies then we start to become human again.....

[qualtrough]

HardenedSoul,

I do in fact have a rather large safety deposit box full of gold and silver coins, some slabbed and rare, in the US. Thanks for reminding others of the value in precious metals as opposed to paper. As for the rest of your message, what do you suppose a couple of million people do after a few days with no drinking water and no sign of anything to eat? I can't imagine it will actually get that bad, especially if authorities go ahead and push the water through now, but if it did, how do you expect people to respond? Fortunately,Thai people have more cohesiveness and moralilty than the Katrina mob--yes, I know that's a pretty low bar to hurdle--but Katrina did show you just how vicious a desperate the masses can be.

Katrina mob? Ha ha ha. Total, unadulterated BS. You should do some more research before you condemn the poor victims of Katrina. Here is an article debunking the BS from that left-wing rag Popular Mechanics:

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/natural-disasters/2315076

ANARCHY DIDN'T TAKE OVER

MYTH: "They have people ... been in that frickin' Superdome for five days watching dead bodies, watching hooligans killing people, raping people."--New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Sept. 6, 2005

REALITY: Both public officials and the press passed along lurid tales of post-Katrina mayhem: shootouts in the Superdome, bodies stacked in a convention center freezer, snipers firing on rescue helicopters. And those accounts appear to have affected rescue efforts as first responders shifted resources from saving lives to protecting rescuers. In reality, although looting and other property crimes were widespread after the flooding on Monday, Aug. 29, almost none of the stories about violent crime turned out to be true. Col. Thomas Beron, the National Guard commander of Task Force Orleans, arrived at the Superdome on Aug. 29 and took command of 400 soldiers. He told PM that when the Dome's main power failed around 5 am, "it became a hot, humid, miserable place. There was some pushing, people were irritable. There was one attempted rape that the New Orleans police stopped."

The only confirmed account of a weapon discharge occurred when Louisiana Guardsman Chris Watt was jumped by an assailant and, during the chaotic arrest, accidently shot himself in the leg with his own M-16.

When the Superdome was finally cleared, six bodies were found--not the 200 speculated. Four people had died of natural causes; one was ruled a suicide, and another a drug overdose. Of the four bodies recovered at the convention center, three had died of natural causes; the fourth had sustained stab wounds.

Anarchy in the streets? "The vast majority of people [looting] were taking food and water to live," says Capt. Marlon Defillo, the New Orleans Police Department's commander of public affairs. "There were no killings, not one murder." As for sniper fire: No bullet holes were found in the fuselage of any rescue helicopter.

NEXT TIME: "Rumors are fueled by a shortage of truth," says Ted Steinberg, author of Acts of God: The Unnatural History of Natural Disasters in America. And truth was the first casualty of the information breakdown that followed the storm. Hardening communications lines (see page 3) will benefit not just first responders, but also the media. Government officials have a vital role in informing the public. Ensuring the flow of accurate information should be part of disaster planning at local, state and federal levels.

[Steely Dan]

Bangkok is a big city. Which areas could suffer from worst case scenario. CBD for example. She as usual is telling us nothing

I think the dancers at the Go Go Clubs were told to climb higher on the poles

[Payboy]

Bangkok is a big city. Which areas could suffer from worst case scenario. CBD for example. She as usual is telling us nothing

I think the dancers at the Go Go Clubs were told to climb higher on the poles

And yesterday, at Nana they were shooting darts at sandbags.