All 50 Districts In Bangkok To Brace For Flood Tonight

[crazygreg44]

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.

let me know if ya need any help, I will fly in from Europe on November 2nd, got an inflatable 4-person boat in my luggage . . . .

[easybullet3]

good luck down in BKK. we are high and dry up in Isaan..

where did you buy your 2kVA generator ?

does it give 220 volts of power? and how many power sockets on it?

how many electrical household items can it support at one time?

fridge? TV? fan? lamps? (all at once)?

i am interested to get one.. (*and I appreciate if you can let me know more about it)

Thanks

[Crossy]

good luck down in BKK. we are high and dry up in Isaan..

where did you buy your 2kVA generator ?

does it give 220 volts of power? and how many power sockets on it?

how many electrical household items can it support at one time?

fridge? TV? fan? lamps? (all at once)?

i am interested to get one.. (*and I appreciate if you can let me know more about it)

Thanks

They were readily available for Homepro and the likes as well as numerous farm equipment outlets, no idea what stock levels are like now mind. Ours actually came from a chap who was leaving the country, it's petrol rather than my preferred and safer diesel but beggars can't be choosers.

At 2kVA it will realistically supply about 1500 Watts, so TV, fans, freezer and a few lights are no problem. Two outlets, but just use traily leads for more.

This isn't really the place to start discussions like this, so why not head over to the DIY forum, start with this thread

[exalll]

4 meter high? is that true, people will drown

No, people will not drown. 4m is measured from the lowest of low tides - so it is not the same measurement as "Chao Praya is at 2.5m", because that is 2.5m above normal levels (which is well above lowest of low tides!)

[Estrada]

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.

There are two high tides per day the highest tide For Thursday was at 05.48a.m 3.67m and again at 4.21p.m at the reduced height of 3.15m

On Friday the high tides will be at 06.35a.m 3.90m and 4.19.p.m 3.19m Contrary to what you have said the low tides will get much lower Friday night 11.54P.M. at only 0.42m

[saengsureeya]

So atms working or not? Not really a place for more rumours, there is enough wrong info around as it is.

I withdrew cash this afternoon at Kasikorn ATM - using my Aussie visa card

May I issue a word of caution? ATM's might soon stop working or being stopped working

a) The need energy and as a bank, I would not keep my ATM's turned on when the water is coming... ATM could think he get's attacked and the alarm system would spray colour over all money inside... and of course, the electronic inside is not really waterproof...

The need for cash to leave BKK is so high that ATM's will soon be empty anyway and no bank will put their employees in danger and send them in flooded areas to refill ATM's...

so take out what you can as long as you can!

Then individual ATM's will be shut off......dam_n.....stop panicking!!

ATM's may be empty at some point......OK

[saengsureeya]

will there be free use of tollways???

Don Muang tollway seems to be free!

[Estrada]

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.

EXCEPT that the one tide THAT MATTERS, i.e. the really high tide, was in the morning whilst Steve stated that there was only one high tide in the afternoon. His high tide was much lower than the very high early morning tide.

[cowslip]

there seems to be a popular misconception that the threat of flooding is only connected to the height of the tide. - not so - the situation is two volumes of water are meeting - it is an equation that includes the amount coming downstream versus the amount coming inform the sea. THis is not only tides but winds and currents too.

To suggest that the low tide is in effect is a "high tide" too would be wrong up to the low tide all water is flowing in the same direction, wen that tide turns then the two bodies of water are acting against each other again and this lasts for about 6 hours each time building up to the next high tide.

Presumably the authorities release less water as the tide comes in and more as it goes out....however this again is still an oversimplification as it does take into account variations in flow, wind and volume etc........

[serenitynow]

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.

EXCEPT that the one tide THAT MATTERS, i.e. the really high tide, was in the morning whilst Steve stated that there was only one high tide in the afternoon. His high tide was much lower than the very high early morning tide.

OK, I'll buy that. I don't have my glasses on and I couldn't tell AM and PM on the chart.

[cowslip]

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.

EXCEPT that the one tide THAT MATTERS, i.e. the really high tide, was in the morning whilst Steve stated that there was only one high tide in the afternoon. His high tide was much lower than the very high early morning tide.

OK, I'll buy that. I don't have my glasses on and I couldn't tell AM and PM on the chart.

again it doesn't have to be the actual HIGHEST - this will depend on the water coming down and how it is - or isn't - controlled.

[moe666]

Once, again, how would the Bank of Thailand's location affect ALL the bank's ATMs?

The ATM transactions don't go through the BOT. Each bank's ATMs are independent. The back end switches will talk to each other for inter-bank transactions, but that doesn't stop all ATMs for banks that are still working.

I really don't know. I am no expert on that.

I am just repeating what I was told after they held a meeting at the bank. Not only ATM's but possibly credit card transactions will be halted too.

Well there is no reason ALL the banks ATM networks would shut down just because of the BOT. The BOT might affect international transactions, but not internal transactions.

Just as in the states the banks borrow money from there central bank, in Thailand the BOT, for there daily operation. The floods may cause a problem distributeing cash to banks and ATMs, Draw some out to be safe.

[ryladie99]

Batten down the hatches, get ready for the biggest floating markets of all time. Sure hope that the quality of the goods is high.

As A foreigner I was the trend setter in our village. We have had the sand bags in place for a week now, bedding in. The personal belongings have been up stairs for a week, and all the while we were being looked at by the neighbours wondering what we were doing. Some in the village still haven't done anything to secure their belongings, and have refused our assistance.

Best of luck for all. See what happens hey?

Good planning and an awesome thinker. Is it about time for you and the family to educate the neighbors about what you guys are doing...your will make a difference by helping and save many lives who live near by...

Meanwhile, help donate money in any baht you can to the Thai Red Cross because there are so many people who lost too much from the Flood..I myself have donate 30 years for charity organizations. This year I do donate money to several of them..including the American Red Cross...

My take and opinion...

[tropo]

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.

Actually the tides in Bangkok are about as complicated as rocket science. You are incorrect in your belief about Bangkok having a "normal" 2 tides per day.

Here's an easy to follow Bangkok tide chart for this month.

You'll notice that there is never a consistent time period between tides and on several days every month there is only one tide per day.

For this month there are 4 days with only one high tide per day and another 4 days with only 1 high or 1 low per day.

Bangkok tides - October 2011

[cheshiremusicman]

Batten down the hatches, get ready for the biggest floating markets of all time. Sure hope that the quality of the goods is high.

As A foreigner I was the trend setter in our village. We have had the sand bags in place for a week now, bedding in. The personal belongings have been up stairs for a week, and all the while we were being looked at by the neighbours wondering what we were doing. Some in the village still haven't done anything to secure their belongings, and have refused our assistance.

Well done my friend; pity that your initiative and forward thinking wasn't taken up by your generous offer to help your fellow villagers. I'm sure they will live to regret this, but probably still won't accept the fact that you were correct and they were wrong. FACE FACE FACE.

I hope all goes well for you and the other villagers. I am lucky that I live near to Hua-Hin and we are as dry as a bone, even though we have had the worst 3 months of weather that I have experienced in the 5 years that I have lived here.

Hua-Hin is now full of people escaping from the flooding, but they are lucky enough to be able to afford to do this. My heart goes out to all those people in the floods that cannot escape because of lack of money and who of course have probably lost all of their possessions and livelihoods. A great tragedy for Thailand and its people

[Markaew]

well that's it, then. The wellies are on, the noodles are on standby and over 1TB of downloaded movies/TV shows are ready to go !

Your naivete will soon drown in the reality of your situation. Kid thinks he's going camping. Yippee. How you gonna cook those noodles?

SW, I assume you are thai because you completely missed the humor there.

[phillipfry]

well that's it, then. The wellies are on, the noodles are on standby and over 1TB of downloaded movies/TV shows are ready to go !

Your naivete will soon drown in the reality of your situation. Kid thinks he's going camping. Yippee. How you gonna cook those noodles?

SW, I assume you are thai because you completely missed the humor there.

After the water recedes, there is going to be a really big mold problem in the flood water damaged homes and buildings. Thai residents can learn how to do their own mold removal by following the 25 steps for safe and effective mold removal posted at http://www.moldinspector.com/mold_removal.htm'>http://www.moldinspector.com/mold_removal.htm and about the mold health consequences of exposure to toxic mold on the website http://www.moldinspector.com

[tropo]

Here's a good map provided by BBC today.

Edited October 27, 2011 by tropo

[dayverne]

I gather from all this chatter that the levels expected at high tide are about 4m above mean sea level including the impact of run off from the North. Bearing in mind that 3.4 m is required to flood the Chao Praya so, we should get approximately 0.6 m flooding here in Soi 65, Sukhumvit.

However, personally, we have suffered worse than this at least weekly all this year as the rains inundated our drains - just partially upgraded. It got to the point even 12 years ago when I described this Soi as Klong 65! I later found it was very difficult for the myriad local inhabitants to discharge sewage through the local 2 x 12" pipes given the main drain was only dia. 8" and, as you would expect, the water ran the other way.

I am pleased to say that we are well beyond employing sandbags now and all serious defenses seem to be based on breeze blocks and heaps of concrete or silicone. Don't forget, sandbags are made of sand, just that, and are about as useful as a one-legged man at an arse-kicking contest .....

Having said that, the very practical advice from the Government to stock up for 6 weeks has led to panic buying and now we face turmoil whenever we try to purchase simple things like bread, soda water or maybe even a little sand for the screed. Sandbags now cost 49 Baht apiece - I wonder what they will be worth once people realise they are a very temporary remedy. Perhaps moldy bread will help solve the immediate problem and whisky sales are bound to improve in future.

Bangkok needs to look very seriously at its drainage infrastructure to check the actual directions and capacities of the system. It is no good looking to Google Earth or a stupid map when the situation is, of course, a local one. We face a Venetian situation here, American incompetence has already been displayed many times and so far only the Dutch seem to have any proper answers. I am quite sure they contributed to the Thames Barrier project, and typically, that has had to be activated at least 12 times in recent years to protect London itself.

[cowslip]

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 completely opposite side side during 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.

That's not right either - the Sun also has an effect - that's one of the reasons for spring/king tides.

If the moon is round the other side then you have a low tide not a high one.

Re-check your source you've misunderstood it....or edit out the bit about ignorant errors!

[Orac]

I gather from all this chatter that the levels expected at high tide are about 4m above mean sea level including the impact of run off from the North. Bearing in mind that 3.4 m is required to flood the Chao Praya so, we should get approximately 0.6 m flooding here in Soi 65, Sukhumvit.

... snip

I am not sure about your calculations there unless you are saying that where you are is also 3.4m above msl as well. If you are assuming that if the wall is breached by 0.6m there will be a 0.6m flood that would incorrect as water will keep overflowing the wall until it reaches equilibrium or in reality the water level drops below the wall level again.

[JSL]

Here is a clearer look at tides in Bangkok:

http://tides.mobilegeographics.com/calendar/month/362.html

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.

Edited October 27, 2011 by JSL

[Orac]

^ useful information. As I am pretty clueless on this can you indicate how accurate this info is likely to be - I did see a quote early today from some government official who was claiming it was difficult to predict tide levels accurately until 2-3 days before. Is there likely to be a 2/3/5/10% variance do you know????

[JSL]

Sorry I can only speak to tide charts I use in Mexico for fishing. Very very accurate ! 2-3 days sounds like twaddle. Tide charts I use are made a year in advance by the University of Arizona and I can almost use wrist watch to see when highest wave of the day will hit the beach per chart.

Here is a clearer look at tides in Bangkok:

http://tides.mobileg.../month/362.html

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.

[Orac]

^Fair enough thanks - I had a feeling it was just an excuse from him to cover his own a*se!

[philw]

Actually the tides in Bangkok are about as complicated as rocket science. You are incorrect in your belief about Bangkok having a "normal" 2 tides per day.

Here's an easy to follow Bangkok tide chart for this month.

You'll notice that there is never a consistent time period between tides and on several days every month there is only one tide per day.

For this month there are 4 days with only one high tide per day and another 4 days with only 1 high or 1 low per day.

Bangkok tides - October 2011

Don't think there is much point following a tide table with the qualifier " NOT FOR NAVIGATION "

Their words at the bottom of the page, written in bold.

Is it from a Mormon organisation ???

[tropo]

Don't think there is much point following a tide table with the qualifier " NOT FOR NAVIGATION "

Their words at the bottom of the page, written in bold.

Is it from a Mormon organisation ???

Please keep up. I included that chart to show that Bangkok has unusual tides and not the usual 2 highs and lows per day that most people are accustomed to.

Having a qualifier would be prudent in order to eliminate the possibility of someone like you trying to sue them for damages.

[tropo]

After the water recedes, there is going to be a really big mold problem in the flood water damaged homes and buildings. Thai residents can learn how to do their own mold removal by following the 25 steps for safe and effective mold removal posted at http://www.moldinspe...old_removal.htm and about the mold health consequences of exposure to toxic mold on the website http://www.moldinspector.com

Their mold prevention tips are particularly useful - try to keep humidity below 60% because indoor mold grows well at levels about 70% humidity.

Only solution in Thailand would be to keep air-conditioners on 24/7.

[rubl]

Don't think there is much point following a tide table with the qualifier " NOT FOR NAVIGATION "

Their words at the bottom of the page, written in bold.

Is it from a Mormon organisation ???

Please keep up. I included that chart to show that Bangkok has unusual tides and not the usual 2 highs and lows per day that most people are accustomed to.

Having a qualifier would be prudent in order to eliminate the possibility of someone like you trying to sue them for damages.

Stay calm, dear philw was just disappointed he couldn't use your table to take his boat out

[philw]

Don't think there is much point following a tide table with the qualifier " NOT FOR NAVIGATION "

Their words at the bottom of the page, written in bold.

Is it from a Mormon organisation ???

Please keep up. I included that chart to show that Bangkok has unusual tides and not the usual 2 highs and lows per day that most people are accustomed to.

Having a qualifier would be prudent in order to eliminate the possibility of someone like you trying to sue them for damages.

Admiralty tide tables lack the qualifier.

They are intended for navigation, like what tide tables and charts are for.........

Do please pay attention.