All 50 Districts In Bangkok To Brace For Flood Tonight

[michaeljordan]

Meanwhile the county is screwed and there should be more important things to do than discuss sodding tide tables.

Any ideas how we should all be helping ??

I think Steve's point was that there is only one high tide per day THAT MATTERS and that presently it is falling in late afternoon. As for how we can help, I currently have 6 house guests affected by the flooding, have donated more money than I imagine most here make per month, intend to donate more (probably rice), when it is over, and in addition I have my own flood damage to repair. As for others, my suggestion is put yourselves in the shoes of those affected and do whatever you can. My only other piece of advice is that if you give to a charity, which I mostly do not, be well familiar with their history.

Two high tides per day.

The high tides are caused by the grqavity of the moon. You get one high tide when the part of the earth you are on faces directly into the moon during the earth's 24 hour rotation. You get another when you are then on the completlely opposite side fside furing rotation of the earth. Two in a day.

I hate it when people make ignorant errors and then refuse to simply correct them. This is not rocket science.

The high tides will of course make the flooding in Bangkok worse as it will slow the flow of water heading out to sea from the flooded areas.

[pedro01]

From Thailand Live Wednesday:

Posted 7 minutes ago (probably 21:45)

FROC asks BKK residents to move out to the provinces as evacuation centers have been set up due to possible flooding of capital tonight/TAN_Network

Interesting, imagine the chaos if all 10 (12?) million Bangkok citizens decided to follow this advice

I thought that was odd. Especially with all the closed roads.

The farce continues...

[bkkjames]

The problem now is too many people crying wolf and who knows what to believe.

[h90]

Power in our condo went out as soon as the water arrived, intelligent planning put the power incomer and backup generator in the basement

Wifey is now supplying 4 apartments from her little 2kVA generator

Oh that is so sad....amazing in a city which floods!

Generators can be deadly, much more than you may know. In America there are always numerous deaths after hurricanes and winter blizzards due to generators. Opening windows, and using fans will not provide adequate ventilation. The tiniest generator (unless wind or water powered, of course) can and does kill. People are often lulled into a sense of security with fans, then a day or two goes by, everything seems ok. Then outside the wind changes subtly and the CO reverses and flows back into the house--the result is death. The tragic Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in 1977 where 167people died is not related to generators, and if you read about it, it is interesting, nobody talks about burns. The reason is that as far as I know, every person there died of CO poisoning. They'd escape the burning building, the fire a great distance from where most of the people were, walk out to the grassy areas, sit down, and die.

If you can, at least get a CO detector, remember that you can smell the exhaust which gives warning, but if the exhaust is pulled away from the building, but the wind causes a backflow, there may be no odor to warn you that CO is building up inside the condo; even very low levels can kill since it slowly builds up locking out hemoglobin in the blood with methemomoglbin which bonds to the red blood cells much stronger than the hemoglobin does and which will displace the hemoglobin which is the way our cells use oxygen. At low levels of CO, as in the case of a vented generator with a wind induced backflow there may be no symptoms at all, just an eventual tiredness that lulls people to a sleep from which they never wake up from. This happened to a neighbor of mine, not more than 200 meters away from where I lived. A couple, some years back, was found dead in their sleep with a small generator that was vented (improperly) to the outside.

This paper is worth reading to understand how even a vented generator can cause CO poisoning, perhaps it might be of some help.

http://fire.nist.gov.../PDF/b09009.pdf

This paper tells more about how winds and even breezes can affect the exhaust of a generator.

I remember the layout of my Chiang Mai condo, and knowing what I know, there simply is no way to safely vent a generator from any of the condos except possibly the top floor. It is quite possible too, that a generator, due to wind/breeze effect may not affect the condo where the generator is, but may create a lethal scenario for the neighbors to the left/right/up or down. Of course your condo set-up may differ and perhaps she has it properly vented.

Best is of course to put it on the balcony. or if inside than really opening every window, turn on the fan and don't use the room. CO accumulates. Passing a room full of smoke from time to time is no problem, but sleeping in a room with a little CO will kill you.

[Tattoo180sx]

I'm a bit confused by the sandbag strategy some people are taking. There are 4 sand bags at a a dentist around the corner from me which would do nothing as the door is higher. A bangkok bank has decided to stack a pile on the corner of their property which will at best keep about a square meter of concrete directly under the pile dry???

[whybother]

A good simple explanation of tides. (with diagrams).

http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moontides/

[cowslip]

I'm a bit confused by the sandbag strategy some people are taking. There are 4 sand bags at a a dentist around the corner from me which would do nothing as the door is higher. A bangkok bank has decided to stack a pile on the corner of their property which will at best keep about a square meter of concrete directly under the pile dry???

They're probably trying to keep as many sandbags dry as possible......?

anyway everyone knows that a river is fine so long as it doesn't burst it's bank!

Edited October 26, 2011 by cowslip

[On-the-BTS]

From Thailand Live Wednesday:

Posted 7 minutes ago (probably 21:45)

FROC asks BKK residents to move out to the provinces as evacuation centers have been set up due to possible flooding of capital tonight/TAN_Network

Interesting, imagine the chaos if all 10 (12?) million Bangkok citizens decided to follow this advice

Yes, some of these little news tidbits are quite strange. I think it might be partly a translation issue, or more likely, a problem characteristic of this era of Twitter where breaking news is condensed to be no more than 140 characters long or whatever. Not a good thing at times like this when accurate information is hard to find to begin with.

[peecee]

Why does the flood water always seem to come at night?

Interesting observation. Is it because sabotage or officials opening gates is done at night?

Whatever it is, it works and this morning I can see green returning to the edges of field in some areas in my province. So things do get better and in few sunny days citizens will be able to stretch their legs outside the relief camps..........

The problems in Bangkok have a silver lining, although difficult to appreciate as water rises. Good luck Bangkokians

Pretty simple. High tides in Thailand occur once per day, and at this time of year occur in the late afternoon; around 4.50pm today.

As the water rises, the amount of height the water will drop as it flows to the sea reduces, and therefore the river at a certain point, stops flowing out to sea, and upstream for some distance, the rate of flow reduces out to sea, while the water coming from upstream keeps flowing at the same rate.

This results in the water being at its highest, in line with the high tide. At this time of year, due to (IIRC) the moon, the tides tend to be higher and the lows not as low. April/May is when you see super low tides in the Gulf of Thailand.

Also, which doesn't help, the normal rainy season monsoon which we saw yesterday, tends to fall in the late afternoon following the land heating up and pulling in a sea breeze and pushing clouds up with height resulting in rain etc etc; which is why EVERY YEAR Sept and Oct are the most prone to flooding, as it is a perfect storm of soaking soil, rainfall from the north, high tides and afternoon rain.

Bangkok can handle flash flooding; what it cannot handle is the amount of water coming south.

No conspiracy (unless you believe Jatuporn) it is pretty simple stuff.

I must be simple; but I thought most places have 2 high tides a day @ 11hrs apart? And Bangkok's due for a 4mtr one at 7:21 on Saturday morning!!

[zydeco]

From Thailand Live Wednesday:

Posted 7 minutes ago (probably 21:45)

FROC asks BKK residents to move out to the provinces as evacuation centers have been set up due to possible flooding of capital tonight/TAN_Network

Interesting, imagine the chaos if all 10 (12?) million Bangkok citizens decided to follow this advice

This can't be true. They can't be telling people to run for the provinces at 9:45 pm at night right at the beginning of the crest of the flooding. I refuse to believe this is true. It would be criminal, if so.

Edited October 26, 2011 by zydeco

[peecee]

Meanwhile the county is screwed and there should be more important things to do than discuss sodding tide tables.

Any ideas how we should all be helping ??

I think Steve's point was that there is only one high tide per day THAT MATTERS and that presently it is falling in late afternoon. As for how we can help, I currently have 6 house guests affected by the flooding, have donated more money than I imagine most here make per month, intend to donate more (probably rice), when it is over, and in addition I have my own flood damage to repair. As for others, my suggestion is put yourselves in the shoes of those affected and do whatever you can. My only other piece of advice is that if you give to a charity, which I mostly do not, be well familiar with their history.

Two high tides per day.

The high tides are caused by the grqavity of the moon. You get one high tide when the part of the earth you are on faces directly into the moon during the earth's 24 hour rotation. You get another when you are then on the completlely opposite side fside furing rotation of the earth. Two in a day.

I hate it when people make ignorant errors and then refuse to simply correct them. This is not rocket science.

The high tides will of course make the flooding in Bangkok worse as it will slow the flow of water heading out to sea from the flooded areas.

Some places even have double high tides!

[SteeleJoe]

I recon it wont be to bad just places near the river will be affected .

If you think flooding will only occur near the river then you are mistaken; there's a colossal amount of water that has accumulated over weeks and weeks that has to get to the ocean and in order to do so, guess where some of it will have to pass through?

Bangkok.

It's the runoff that we have to worry about -- not the river. And then the effects of weeks of flooding and resultant disruptions and health ramifications. As for what will be "affected"...I think you may be in for a rude surprise (and are quite possibly diminishing what could be a massive disaster for millions).

[rogerdee123]

From Thailand Live Wednesday:

Posted 7 minutes ago (probably 21:45)

FROC asks BKK residents to move out to the provinces as evacuation centers have been set up due to possible flooding of capital tonight/TAN_Network

Interesting, imagine the chaos if all 10 (12?) million Bangkok citizens decided to follow this advice

This can't be true. They can't be telling people to run for the provinces at 9:45 pm at night right at the beginning of the crest of the flooding. I refuse to believe this is true. It would be criminal, if so.

Yeah ... at this point it probably best to stay put where you are ... unless you're in a one story house in a low-lying area of Minburi.

If in Bkk city proper, I think the flood levels will improve fairly quickly after this high tide period passes (next week?). Grin and bare it for the next few days.

Water levels in Pratum Thani are dropping (according to television reports) so there's light at the end of the tunnel. This humongous mass of water has to move thru Bangkok ... hopefully mostly via the river and the nearby neighborhoods ... and then we've got good weather to look forward to for a few months !

In won't be long before we are all here squabbling over who's to blame about the flood's after effects.

Edited October 26, 2011 by rogerdee123

[nikster]

Please explain how the Thai Democrats would have avoided the flooding of Bangkok.

They wouldn't have.

But, IMO, they would have been better communicating what's happening ... as shown by Sukhumband's performance.

Also it would be pretty hard to do a worse job than the current government. So by default, the democrats would have done a better job. Pretty much any random person off the street would have done a better job. The government statements read as if the administration was simply delusional about the whole thing. "We will protect bangkok". Industrial estates will be spared. We will keep central BKK dry. All these statements turned out to be utter BS. One look at a flood map should make this abundantly clear: To the north, a HUMONGOUS amount of water. To the south - the sea, where it all goes. In-between - Bangkok.

This is from some days ago from here (the site is a bit slow right now):

[george]

Big high tides start tomorrow with the highest on Sat. Be careful in Bangkok on Thu at 7:07am & 5:18pm #ThaiFloodEng

[OZEMADE]

Please explain how the Thai Democrats would have avoided the flooding of Bangkok.

They wouldn't have.

But, IMO, they would have been better communicating what's happening ... as shown by Sukhumband's performance.

Also it would be pretty hard to do a worse job than the current government. So by default, the democrats would have done a better job. Pretty much any random person off the street would have done a better job. The government statements read as if the administration was simply delusional about the whole thing. "We will protect bangkok". Industrial estates will be spared. We will keep central BKK dry. All these statements turned out to be utter BS. One look at a flood map should make this abundantly clear: To the north, a HUMONGOUS amount of water. To the south - the sea, where it all goes. In-between - Bangkok.

This is from some days ago from here (the site is a bit slow right now):

As seen by your aerial photograph, Bangkok looks like a very small place compared to the volume of water. No matter who was in power, no one was going to stop this and with the tides coming in it will get worse.

[Tiffer]

Please explain how the Thai Democrats would have avoided the flooding of Bangkok.

They wouldn't have.

But, IMO, they would have been better communicating what's happening ... as shown by Sukhumband's performance.

Also it would be pretty hard to do a worse job than the current government. So by default, the democrats would have done a better job. Pretty much any random person off the street would have done a better job. The government statements read as if the administration was simply delusional about the whole thing. "We will protect bangkok". Industrial estates will be spared. We will keep central BKK dry. All these statements turned out to be utter BS. One look at a flood map should make this abundantly clear: To the north, a HUMONGOUS amount of water. To the south - the sea, where it all goes. In-between - Bangkok.

This is from some days ago from here (the site is a bit slow right now):

As seen by your aerial photograph, Bangkok looks like a very small place compared to the volume of water. No matter who was in power, no one was going to stop this and with the tides coming in it will get worse.

Right... but allowing the dams to reach capacity, plus not drawing off water over many months bla bla <deleted> bla bla bla are all factors that have exacerbated the situation. OK

[satiariyan]

The problem now is too many people crying wolf and who knows what to believe.

Believe the ones that link to graphics, tables and other sources by the plenty showing that the rivertides will be way higher than 2.5 meter above sea level for 8-12 hours pr. day every day for more than a week. Believe the ones that say the river embankments are only 2.5 meter above sealevel (be it a average or more likely: MAX). Do not believe those that says the river won't overflow its embankments 8-12 hours pr. day every day for more than a week.

Believe those that link to graphics and other sources that show that groundlevels of central Bangkok are between 0 (ZERO) meter above sealevel and 2 meter above sealevel. Add to this that all the surrounding, flooded areas are (largely) at least 2.5 meter above sealevel. Add to this that the lowlands of central Bangkok isn't particurly large. Don't believe those that say only some of the 50 districts will be flooded and don't believe those that say that they only will flood 0.50 to 1.5 meter, but add a meter to those figures.

Add to this that the floodmaps shows that the two provinces below Bangkok aready are flooded and add to this that the runoff from north will keep on rolling down into the lowlands of Central Bangkok for weeks - if not months - and draw your own conclusion wether to believe those who say the flood will only last 1 month or wether to believe those that put forth longer time.

I think we all are about to reealize that what has been at stake in the desparate fight to prevent floodwater from entering central Bangkok, wasn't just a matter of saving Bangkok from a similar flooding as the rest of country. It was simply a fight for saving Bangkok (as we know it).

[thaicbr]

This is possible the best map i have found..the other one shows places THAT ARE NOT FLOODED.

http://203.150.230.27/FloodMap/

[thailife69]

Why does the flood water always seem to come at night?

Interesting observation. Is it because sabotage or officials opening gates is done at night?

Whatever it is, it works and this morning I can see green returning to the edges of field in some areas in my province. So things do get better and in few sunny days citizens will be able to stretch their legs outside the relief camps..........

The problems in Bangkok have a silver lining, although difficult to appreciate as water rises. Good luck Bangkokians

Pretty simple. High tides in Thailand occur once per day, and at this time of year occur in the late afternoon; around 4.50pm today.

As the water rises, the amount of height the water will drop as it flows to the sea reduces, and therefore the river at a certain point, stops flowing out to sea, and upstream for some distance, the rate of flow reduces out to sea, while the water coming from upstream keeps flowing at the same rate.

This results in the water being at its highest, in line with the high tide. At this time of year, due to (IIRC) the moon, the tides tend to be higher and the lows not as low. April/May is when you see super low tides in the Gulf of Thailand.

Also, which doesn't help, the normal rainy season monsoon which we saw yesterday, tends to fall in the late afternoon following the land heating up and pulling in a sea breeze and pushing clouds up with height resulting in rain etc etc; which is why EVERY YEAR Sept and Oct are the most prone to flooding, as it is a perfect storm of soaking soil, rainfall from the north, high tides and afternoon rain.

Bangkok can handle flash flooding; what it cannot handle is the amount of water coming south.

No conspiracy (unless you believe Jatuporn) it is pretty simple stuff.

Ummmmmmmmm.

I almost believe you, but now I feel a conspiracy is going on and doubt all that you say.

Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.

Most places in the ocean usually experience two high tides and two low tides each day (semidiurnal tide), but some locations experience only one high and one low tide each day (diurnal tide).

Tide charts for Bangkok show two high tides and two low tides each day, so I am beginning to wonder where you live.

Thu 27 Oct. 2011

High 5:48 AM ICT / 3.67 m Low 11:41 AM ICT / 2.32 m

High 4:21 PM ICT / 3.15 m Low 11:18 PM ICT / 0.66 m

It's Wednesday through Thursday day time that will hurt, 2.32 m to 3.67 m

Thursday night might bring some relief with a 0.66 m low tide.

Edited October 26, 2011 by thailife69

[Tiffer]

Why does the flood water always seem to come at night?

Interesting observation. Is it because sabotage or officials opening gates is done at night?

Whatever it is, it works and this morning I can see green returning to the edges of field in some areas in my province. So things do get better and in few sunny days citizens will be able to stretch their legs outside the relief camps..........

The problems in Bangkok have a silver lining, although difficult to appreciate as water rises. Good luck Bangkokians

Pretty simple. High tides in Thailand occur once per day, and at this time of year occur in the late afternoon; around 4.50pm today.

As the water rises, the amount of height the water will drop as it flows to the sea reduces, and therefore the river at a certain point, stops flowing out to sea, and upstream for some distance, the rate of flow reduces out to sea, while the water coming from upstream keeps flowing at the same rate.

This results in the water being at its highest, in line with the high tide. At this time of year, due to (IIRC) the moon, the tides tend to be higher and the lows not as low. April/May is when you see super low tides in the Gulf of Thailand.

Also, which doesn't help, the normal rainy season monsoon which we saw yesterday, tends to fall in the late afternoon following the land heating up and pulling in a sea breeze and pushing clouds up with height resulting in rain etc etc; which is why EVERY YEAR Sept and Oct are the most prone to flooding, as it is a perfect storm of soaking soil, rainfall from the north, high tides and afternoon rain.

Bangkok can handle flash flooding; what it cannot handle is the amount of water coming south.

No conspiracy (unless you believe Jatuporn) it is pretty simple stuff.

Ummmmmmmmm.

I almost believe you, but now I feel a conspiracy is going on and doubt all that you say.

Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.

Most places in the ocean usually experience two high tides and two low tides each day (semidiurnal tide), but some locations experience only one high and one low tide each day (diurnal tide).

Tide charts for Bangkok show two high tides and two low tides each day, so I am beginning to wonder where you live.

Thu 27 Oct. 2011

High 5:48 AM ICT / 3.67 m Low 11:41 AM ICT / 2.32 m

High 4:21 PM ICT / 3.15 m Low 11:18 PM ICT / 0.66 m

It's Wednesday through Thursday day time that will hurt, 2.32 m to 3.67 m

Thursday night might bring some relief with a 0.66 m low tide.

Yawn..... it's mismanagement ++

[KHR1010]

The local fuel outlet has power and fuel, the local motorcycle taxi chaps have acquired a boat and will collect fuel and water etc.

Why you'll need fuel - when you unable to ride or even start the vehicle...?

It's not just road vehicles that use fuel, boats and in this case a genset also burn petrol or diesel.

...but it STILL sits on the very ground...or even (sometimes/somewhere) underground. Now let's just add water and turn gravity on.

Or will you put that to the very roof's top?

good grief man......he is speaking of portable generators...the kind you pick up by their handle like a suitcase and march away with. Many people have them and are using them to provide emergency power, and they require a steady supply of petrol. So yes, they may very well haul them up to the roof-tops should the need arise.

[rubl]

My faith in PM Yingluck has been restored and strengthened after she said about two weeks ago "There's just too much water"

Mind you, here in Khet Dusit it's still dry as a bone

Edited October 26, 2011 by rubl

[janverbeem]

There are actually about 2 tide cycles per day. The peak on Thursday the 27th is 3.67 metres at 05:48. The 29th has 4.00 metres at 07:21. So it looks like Saturday will be the worst if the water keeps coming from upcountry. The tides levels are decreasing after Saturday. Google Bangkok Tide Tables and there is a site called Myforecast that is reasonably easy to understand.

Best of luck to all who are involved. I am offshore and can only read about it.

Cheers

Strange that Plopsaprop hasn't come up with an idea to slow down this process,like starting up a huge magnetic field.......................or have they cut of all his communication sources after his last bright idea?

[rubl]

There are actually about 2 tide cycles per day. The peak on Thursday the 27th is 3.67 metres at 05:48. The 29th has 4.00 metres at 07:21. So it looks like Saturday will be the worst if the water keeps coming from upcountry. The tides levels are decreasing after Saturday. Google Bangkok Tide Tables and there is a site called Myforecast that is reasonably easy to understand.

Best of luck to all who are involved. I am offshore and can only read about it.

Cheers

Strange that Plopsaprop hasn't come up with an idea to slow down this process,like starting up a huge magnetic field.......................or have they cut of all his communication sources after his last bright idea?

Magnetic field? Maybe minister Plodprasob is still watching the TV movie "Metal Tornado". From 2011, a very forgettable movie ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1688653/ )

Edited October 26, 2011 by rubl

[radiola]

how is onnut? her in ramkhamhaeng is still dry

[meand]

I think the gist of the tides situation, as simply as I can put it, is we'll unfortunately be having "high tide" all day tomorrow and over these next critical days. There is a low tide near mid-day, but it is not very low, so it is effectively a "high tide." That is where some confusion entered in I think. The worst tides (4.0 meters) will come in the mornings about 8 or 9am.

After night falls (8pm, 9pm, 10pm) over these next few days is when there will be some heavy draining (ie water out of bkk =good). THIS is the time when the rate of the water moving out could increase substancially to what you may have been accostomed to during the day. So, nighttime and faster moving waters (relative to the day) means be careful walking about at night in flooded areas (no brainer in any case perhaps).

That was just repeating what others have said, trying to put it simple for anybbody that may need the info.

And yes, agreed, try not to put tide info unless you are sure you know what you are talking about.

Good luck all.

http://tides.mobileg...=2011&m=10&d=30

Edited October 26, 2011 by meand

[radiola]

4 meter high? is that true, people will drown

[balo]

Everything is dry here near Sukhumvit 100 , traffic been normal today so its just like a normal day in Bangkok.

I'm not too worried about this area, we'll see the next days.

[craigt3365]

A few replies to a post that was removed have been deleted. Sorry to the members who posted replies. :jap: