Disaster Warning Issued For Bangkok

[SweRob]

I live in Ratchada/Hua Kwang, its buisness as usual, no water to be seen.

Bottled water was out today tough, first time that happened, went to two local Family Marts, Big C Ratchada and Tops, same thing in all the shops, bottled water was out. That was a bit of an reality check, i have been downplaying and taking things to relaxing/easy i think.

Had to fill up my emergency water reserve using the Filtered water machine at my condo.

I also started to stock up on Food, Water etc today. So now i have Tuna, Makrill, Noodles, Serial etc so i last two weeks atleast. Might go out shopping more tomorrow.

Still find it quite surreal that my area will/might be under water soon, but hey i got blue eyes.

[ES1]

So does this mean they can get more propellers in the Chaophrya?

[smiling mantis]

Oh man, am I the only one who finds it tragic that there are people on all sides of the political spectrum--both in Thai society and here on thaivisa--who are turning this into a political issue?

For most people here this is the worst flood ever experienced. The government is going to make mistakes. They're trying to fix them. The most time spent pointing fingers, the less time spent actually dealing with the disaster.

The recriminations are ably handled at a later time.

[Crushdepth]

I think most of us got that bit about you and others think the goverment is incompetent - but do we have to have pages and pages of slightly different ways of saying the same thing. Of course, The Nation and Sondhi's mouthpiece are pumping out "articles" at a similar rate so that it almost self perpetuating.

Somebody let me know when the braying has stopped.

Do you think they *are* competent? Just curious.

[h90]

Oh man, am I the only one who finds it tragic that there are people on all sides of the political spectrum--both in Thai society and here on thaivisa--who are turning this into a political issue?

For most people here this is the worst flood ever experienced. The government is going to make mistakes. They're trying to fix them. The most time spent pointing fingers, the less time spent actually dealing with the disaster.

The recriminations are ably handled at a later time.

The government made already way too many mistakes.

[BigBikeBKK]

I live on the "u" in Pathum Thani on that map just down & across the highway from Dreamworld. Still dry here somehow. The Dreamworld side of the canal isn't though afaik.

Ar you saying that Dreamworld has been flooded? I had plans on going there on sunday.

Getting tired of this flood.

"Getting tired of this flood" ???

Have you actually had wet feet yet? Or been inconvenienced?

Dreamworld? Actually it's Nightmareworld for some people in flooded areas. Some have lost everything.

Plan on Dreamworld around Christmas.

Yeah, it is truly horrific. Yesterday Starbucks ran out of large cups and customers were forced to make do with two small cups. I am sure Thaksin or his minions are somehow responsible. How much more can we take??

Dudes, I went to the Tesco Ram Intra to stock up for the great Bangkok flood of 2011 and they were sold out of San Miguel Light!

I could only choose from Singha, Chang, Leo, Heineken and Cheer!

They didn't have the big size of infant formula I usually get for my Mini Me so I had to buy two smaller boxes instead- I can't tell you how inconvenienced I was!

Then I had to sit there and try to figure out the difference between all the different kinds of Schweppes- There's Tonic, Ginger Ale and Soda but seems the English lettering has been let go so I had to buy a case of each and will sort it out later.

Oh, the what really put me over the edge- when I stopped by KFC on the way out to get a family bucket and childrens meal they informed me that they ran out of the toys that go with the kids meal!

I tell you, it will be a miracle if we survive the great Bangkok Panic Flood of 2011

[robokop]

This should have been done two weeks ago at least.

But let's see what actually get's done to prepare for this disaster .... besides a press conference.

So far almost everything is a reaction .... haven't seen much significant preparation ... except the sandbag walls ... which only delay the floods.

The delay;s that the sandbags are providing should be used for evacuations and preparations.

Still little to no information about how the flood waters may affect Suvarnabhumi

[Banzai99]

I live on the "u" in Pathum Thani on that map just down & across the highway from Dreamworld. Still dry here somehow. The Dreamworld side of the canal isn't though afaik.

Ar you saying that Dreamworld has been flooded? I had plans on going there on sunday.

Getting tired of this flood.

Oh you poor thing, I feel so sorry for you.

Lets all pray for you, lets pray that you can get to dreamkinworld, lets forget about the dead and the poor farmers who have lost everything.

Just keep dreamworld open so some Farang can go there on Sunday.

[toenail]

Singapore Foreign Minister Orders Singaporeans in Bangkok To Evacuate

All Singaporeans in Bangkok were ordered to evacuate to higher ground or areas that will be safe from the ravaging floods, as Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra declared to open floodgates in Bangkok to drain water out to sea.

The Singaporean foreign minister reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or MFA has ordered all Singaporeans in Bangkok to evacuate to areas that will not be affected by the inundation after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra declared that floodgates in Bangkok will be opened in order to drain the water into the sea, which will cause flooding in eastern Bangkok.

The Singaporean foreign minister has also advised Singaporeans to avoid traveling to Thailand until the situation returns to normal.

-- Tan Network 2011-10-21

____________________________

Generally, Singaporeans can't handle dirt, uncleanliness, or unsterile conditions so this warning is appropriate for them.

[animatic]

after following the flood stories on the news the last few weeks I have concluded the following

1. The flooding of BK was always going to happen

2. Trying to pevent it was foolish and has prolonged the issue to the point where

it will now be a huge torrent as opposed to a gradual release

3. Because of the above points - people in the North have been subjected to unnecessary prolonged suffering - the water should have been gradually let go long ago rather than allow this huge build up to save a few streets in BK

4. Concluding that the authorities have no clue what they are doing and it's time for a confidence vote against the current PM/government before this gets any worse.

This whole flood issue has existed far too long and it's now time to pull the plug and let these waters drain to the sea, the damage can not be allowed to continue any longer

Plus my flight arrives in BKK in 2x weeks and it better all be sorted by then

Please don't forget that much of the blocking up country was to try and 'SAVE' the rice crop ready for harvest and bound at extraordinarily inflated prices to the 'Rice Pledging Scheme', that they had been rushing to implement. There were HUGE gargantuan profits to be made this fall with rice, but then came 3 typhoons... how to save the rise. BLock up the dams.

But wait the dams can't hold it... what now... panic, panic.

They weren't necessarily saving Bangkok, but flooding the peasants to save the crop, before realizing it's too late to save the crop without releasing a lot of water, and flooding Bangkok too and trying to make it seem inevitable. Vested interests at their worst trying to make their game go their way and sod all to the little guy.

As they say: Follow The Money.

What was the quickest possible return on investment, for those who control grassroots Issan for PTP and the Shinawatra Clan?

Edited October 21, 2011 by animatic

[Gippy]

Good luck everybody with whatever happens next. We weren't on an at risk area but living 200m from a canal it seemed prudent to get prepared. Got as much upstairs as possible, put the bikes in the local avenue, cut the power downstairs etc. At 2am yesterday the Prapra canal started rising and we took the decision to leave town when the water hit the car tyres on the driveway. The house and business are under now, this is Chaengwattana Soi 14 area. Bit miffed about the government claiming it was under control while the water was rolling down our street.

BTW, I spent the day helping with sandbagging in front of some cops without getting busted, if you feel like helping out don't worry about them too much.

Stay safe everybody.

[BigBikeBKK]

Since you can't trust anything the "authorities" tell you I figure the San Saeb Canal is a pretty good barometer of what's coming.

Here's how it looked at from the Ramkamhaeng Soi 43 bridge on October 14th:

And here's how it looked this afternoon:

Is it just me or does it seem like the water level has actually fallen?

Color me confused...

ps. there were people FISHING in San Saeb and actually catching real live fish!!!!!

[EyesWideOpen]

Noticed today that there was quite a bit more traffic in Pattaya. I suspect a few people have opted for an early exit.... Just came back from Tesco Lotus. The instant noodles were nearly entirely stripped out, and most of the rice was gone as well. Everything else looked ok. Not sure if it is Bangkok people shopping down here, or if the locals realize that if Bangkok is really flooded, there will be no food trucks headed this way.

[draftvader]

It has been a very strange day. We live by the river in Bangplad and our apartment looks directly onto the banks. We have seen the water levels today rise to the same levels as yesterday (high tide for high tide). Though tonight the level is not dropping with the receding tide we are still seeing fairly "managed" levels of water. Whilst out in town today I did not notice any major problems in any of the klongs and I rode from Bangplad to Pattanakan 20 at 08:00 and back again at 11:00 and there was no change in the water level. Has anything developed anywhere in town?

[pedro01]

Noticed today that there was quite a bit more traffic in Pattaya. I suspect a few people have opted for an early exit.... Just came back from Tesco Lotus. The instant noodles were nearly entirely stripped out, and most of the rice was gone as well. Everything else looked ok. Not sure if it is Bangkok people shopping down here, or if the locals realize that if Bangkok is really flooded, there will be no food trucks headed this way.

That's what I did on Wednesday.

Put everything valuable upstairs, checked the sandbags were OK, then booked a family room at the Mercure for a week.

It's going to be a real clusterf*ck when the water hits.

[chiangmaicharlies]

And the wash-thru could last 4 weeks. Yikes!

[jackr]

That's a great picture of Yingluck - she looks attractive sitting between the two grumpy fellas...

What's all this about floods?

She don't look too shabby when she doesn't have big brov's head on.

Good luck everybody with whatever happens next. We weren't on an at risk area but living 200m from a canal it seemed prudent to get prepared. Got as much upstairs as possible, put the bikes in the local avenue, cut the power downstairs etc. At 2am yesterday the Prapra canal started rising and we took the decision to leave town when the water hit the car tyres on the driveway. The house and business are under now, this is Chaengwattana Soi 14 area. Bit miffed about the government claiming it was under control while the water was rolling down our street.

BTW, I spent the day helping with sandbagging in front of some cops without getting busted, if you feel like helping out don't worry about them too much.

Stay safe everybody.

Sorry to hear that; hope there's not too much damage. Did you consider putting the car in one of those big plastic bags?

Water was lapping at out back door up in CM couple months ago and have a fast moving canal on perimeter of property... bit stressful, that.

[bkkbbb]

State of Emergency=Disaster Warning

Same Same but different?

For the countries in this region, the understanding often (not always) is :

Emergency = Communist uprising, terrorist attack, racial/other riots, attempted revolution.

Disaster = Floods, tsunami, drought, earthquake, volcanoes, plague, etc.

how about "State of Calamity" for areas already flooded? like the term we use in the Philippines...

[Gippy]

I was all prepared to stay, got food and water upstairs etc. We were going to park the car somewhere safe and sit it out. But then when the water started coming things changed. This was not some minor flood after rain of clean water, the water was thick, black and the smell was unbelievably bad. It was probably more likely to be water from the drainage coming up first, might clean up after some more flushes through. We packed up the car, grabbed our 4 cats and young nephew and left with the water on our Soi level with the wheel centres on a Fortuner. We are now way up in the NE at the MIL's house, going to sit it out and tap our rubber trees until the water goes down enough to start cleaning things up and get the business open again.

Sorry for not trying to include quotes etc., I'm on the iPad with a slow connection and the editor doesn't work so well.

[rishi]

Since you can't trust anything the "authorities" tell you I figure the San Saeb Canal is a pretty good barometer of what's coming.

Here's how it looked at from the Ramkamhaeng Soi 43 bridge on October 14th:

And here's how it looked this afternoon:

Is it just me or does it seem like the water level has actually fallen?

Color me confused...

ps. there were people FISHING in San Saeb and actually catching real live fish!!!!!

Did you notice the (surface) speed of the water? I also checked Saen Saeb, this afternoon, at my spot about 1-2 kms North of yours (a bit south of the Bang Kapi mall). No noteworthy change in water level, but the water floated much faster than usual (not sure how fast, but at least 3-4 times normal walk speed). There also were much more garbage - including dead rats - than usual, so - apparently it is possible to drain off from Minbury and other long-time flooded areas without even raising the waterlevel of the Klong. Does add to the suspicion that there have been political reasons involved in not letting water through before.

[Dag]

7/11 was out of sausages and toasted sangers today in khao yai.....no trucks from bkk.

[Bkkorupcountry]

I was all prepared to stay, got food and water upstairs etc. We were going to park the car somewhere safe and sit it out. But then when the water started coming things changed. This was not some minor flood after rain of clean water, the water was thick, black and the smell was unbelievably bad. It was probably more likely to be water from the drainage coming up first, might clean up after some more flushes through. We packed up the car, grabbed our 4 cats and young nephew and left with the water on our Soi level with the wheel centres on a Fortuner. We are now way up in the NE at the MIL's house, going to sit it out and tap our rubber trees until the water goes down enough to start cleaning things up and get the business open again.

Sorry for not trying to include quotes etc., I'm on the iPad with a slow connection and the editor doesn't work so well.

Off topic post.

I was planning to leave this morning but decided to leave last night around midnight to try and avoid the expected exodus. As per the advise of another poster, I went down to Chonburi, took a left to Phanat Nikom and toward Kabin Buri and then onto Yaso. Dry but a three hour jam to get over Khao Yai.

Where are you and which way did you take?

Also, on the iPad, I find that I can't even post any replies?

[ALFREDO]

So, nobody can predict what will be in Lower Sukhumvit, Soi 11?

I had planned to meet GF in Bangkok Airport and stay there on Monday. I have to change my plans?

[DocN]

what about the Cholera and Typhoid risks now with so much water around?

What about it??!! Should the government assemble an army of nurses and doctors to go around to the wealthy enclaves with vaccines, 20 litres of Volvic and a selection of DVDs? No wonder so many farang guys get hosed by hoes in this country . . . no f***ing back-bone.

The only people with cause for panic are those wretched souls in outlying provinces who have lost absolutely EVERYTHING. We must give whatever we can in terms of appliances, food and clothing to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

We all chose to live here and should make our peace with that rather than criticizing a fledgling government or carping on about what should have been done a fortnight or a month ago because, ultimately, our lives are not in danger.

Why is the (rather justified question) about a possible epidemic, a reason to rant about farangs?

[SweRob]

So, nobody can predict what will be in Lower Sukhumvit, Soi 11?

I had planned to meet GF in Bangkok Airport and stay there on Monday. I have to change my plans?

I will go and sacrifice a Chicken and try to predict the future by looking at its intestines for you.

Joking aside, today its dry, the floodings are in the north of Bangkok, how it looks on monday, we will see on monday.

[rametindallas]

Go South my friends......Go South!

Better take a look at this map: http://flood.gistda.or.th/

Water surrounds us and we're in some sort of Thai version of the Alamo.

Alternate routes for Bangkok holiday-makers

October 21, 2011 8:06 am

Alternate routes are advised for holiday-makers heading out of Bangkok to substitute flooded roads, Highways Police commander Norrabun Naenna suggested Friday.

Motoristing heading North may use routes passing Nakhon Pathom, Ang Thong and Suphan Buri, or Route 11 through Prachin Buri. For northeast-bound motorists, they may head to Rangsit and take right turn into Ban Na district in Nakhon Nayok, then to Saraburi, or drive through Chachoengsao to Prachin Buri, then Pak Thong Chai district in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Key roads heading to the East and the South are not flooded. For more details please call 1193, Highways Police’s

[rogerdee123]

7/11 was out of sausages and toasted sangers today in khao yai.....no trucks from bkk.

expect shortages of all kinds of things, car fuel, cooking gas, cooking oil, etc etc etc.

[Crushdepth]

what about the Cholera and Typhoid risks now with so much water around?

What about it??!! Should the government assemble an army of nurses and doctors to go around to the wealthy enclaves with vaccines, 20 litres of Volvic and a selection of DVDs? No wonder so many farang guys get hosed by hoes in this country . . . no f***ing back-bone.

The only people with cause for panic are those wretched souls in outlying provinces who have lost absolutely EVERYTHING. We must give whatever we can in terms of appliances, food and clothing to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

We all chose to live here and should make our peace with that rather than criticizing a fledgling government or carping on about what should have been done a fortnight or a month ago because, ultimately, our lives are not in danger.

Oh Holier Than Thou, pray tell us what YOU have done.

[otherstuff1957]

I live in the northern part of Hwaykwang, not far from Ratchada, just north of Suttisan. About an hour ago the neighbors told us that the BMA has said that our neighborhood will be about 1 meter deep in water tomorrow. I didn't see or hear this announcement myself, but everyone is going crazy with tarps and sandbags!

[angeledge]

I live in the northern part of Hwaykwang, not far from Ratchada, just north of Suttisan. About an hour ago the neighbors told us that the BMA has said that our neighborhood will be about 1 meter deep in water tomorrow. I didn't see or hear this announcement myself, but everyone is going crazy with tarps and sandbags!

I live in south Huay kwang and it still pretty calm. 1 meter... ouch! let's see tomorrow...