All Bangkok Districts To Be Flooded If Klong Sam Wa's Sluice Gate Further Opened: Deputy Governor

[erobando]

is this an attempt by the government to pass the blame onto the local people for the flooding???

Just my view ! good luck Bangers and all the people living in and around there, it sounds like everyone's getting caught up in the "political war' please be safe !

Kevin

Yes, this seems strange.

Why would they do something against their better judgment just because some people protest?

And why would this canal effect yesterday's claims about the numerous provinces that would likely remain dry, especially the southern half of Thonburi? Opening Sam Wa canal won't increase flooding in Thonburi.

It seems like they're looking for a scapegoat.

And, no the water won't go "straight to the sea." Intersecting canals go to the gulf but Sam Wa runs east-west and much of the water will flood.

[robblok]

The short sightedness of many on this forum amazes me. If Bangkok floods, the situation will only get worse. Right now they're already slashing the economic growth of the country by several percentage points. With Bangkok making up almost half of the countries GDP, guess what will happen to the economy if the city floods for several weeks? Companies shut down, economy will shrink, more people will lose their jobs (lots of them not living in Bangkok, only working there...). And why? Because others want another "quick fix" to their own problems.

I say again, I feel incredibly sorry for those who have lost their homes, everything they had, and are now desperately waiting for the water to drain, but just putting that same water on your neighbor's porch is not going to fix this problem for the country as a whole. The individual needs will have to be set aside for the good of the country, difficult as that may be.

Just to clarify, I am not trying to choose sides here on a political basis. This is just common sense, try to limit the damage to those areas already hit. Using this disaster for political gain is a very sad state of affairs, which just goes to show how low the political climate in this country has sunk.

If it ends suffering a week earlier im all for it. Then we can all start to rebuild. The Thai economy is still growing according to forecasts. It wont mean a breakdown of everything. Right now i have been living flooded for more then a week. (and could not get out because of flooded roads before that). Im getting sick of it.

Opening this gate wont help me, but i understand how the people are feeling. Maybe if the people on the other side of the gate compensated them for 10.000 bt a head for staying longer in the water they would agree.

Now they are taking an extra hit and later can only beg for handouts. While the people on the dry side go on acting like nothing happened.

[KHR1010]

inner Bangkok dry, you get relief , food, shelter and donation......inner Bangkok wet you get nothing because now people have to worry for themself, simple as that.

Donations?!!! You're dreaming. Thai people have no concept of charity! They could watch you die in the street.... Just look how wealth is distributed in a RICH country like Thailand. How many humanitarian THAI organizations do you know of?

I live in the Thonglor area. There is a donation station just north of Sukhumvit on Thonglor. It is overflowing with donated goods and YES there are many Benz and so called "Hi So" vehicles and families dropping off bags and bags of groceries, water, and etc. I have to wait in a Que of vehicles to drop off the goods we donate from Foodland.

If it floods here I will stop my daily donations as I will retreat to Singapore, as others will vacate to safe locations. The end result will be; the currently flooded areas will still be flooded and the relief that was coming from Bangkok will no longer be.

Edited November 1, 2011 by KHR1010

[kevbap]

is this an attempt by the government to pass the blame onto the local people for the flooding???

Just my view ! good luck Bangers and all the people living in and around there, it sounds like everyone's getting caught up in the "political war' please be safe !

Kevin

Yes, this seems strange.

Why would they do something against their better judgment just because some people protest?

And why would this canal effect yesterday's claims about the numerous provinces that would likely remain dry, especially the southern half of Thonburi? Opening Sam Wa canal won't increase flooding in Thonburi.

It seems like they're looking for a scapegoat.

And, no the water won't go "straight to the sea." Intersecting canals go to the gulf but Sam Wa runs east-west and much of the water will flood.

Maybe just maybe the sun will evaporate all the flood water and we can live happy ever after......meanwhile back in the real world !

[forumuser10]

I am fully in agreement with these people, why should they endure more days of flooding just to keep a few places dry! Here in Don Muang I as still experiencing rising water in my house, I will be unable to work today and will lose income because of it, why should I have a few more days of this if it can be lessened?

Because if the inner centre of Bangkok will be flooded, everything will be much more difficult to organize, communication, economy, helping other people, everything will just collapse.

If you guys fails to see this, you are just not very intelligent.

Everything here in the suburbs of BKK is organised by us.. not by outsiders. You are over estimating how much BKK is helping. Just look at all the wasted supplies at don muang. We arranged a truck and boats.. we buy food as a unit.

come on, you can´t be serious with that comment?

[Goffi]

Heartily agree FF..... when has politics been able to stop a natural disaster?

Over urbanisation (political contention here) like in Bombay has been a culprit of the pain and loss being experienced around Bangkok.

When we try to divert nature, SHE comes back with vengeance, but do we learn what is being shown??

I feel so sorry for all who are affected by these floods. I lost everything in the Aus floods earlier this year so I understand that side, however I am fortunate and can replace, not so the 99.95% of locals in Thailand!

I believe if there is any blame to be had, it should be from the people to both sides of government and the .05% for the decades of gross mismanagement and greed!

Oddly, only one official is talking about the water mass from Sukothai, estimated at nearly the mass we are seeing now from Ayuddayah, according to satellite imagery and available information from sources exterior to Thailand, being NOAA and NASA satellites. We were told there would be no flooding in Bangbon, but see water creeping our way east from Mahidol University region and on nearby roads leading from here to there. Yesterday, we saw flooding from Khlong Kwan near the intersection of Bangbon 3 and Petkasem, ankle deep, and that was before the above-mentioned gate opened and before the second high tide yesterday (2:30 PM). His quote is "The water (from Sukhothai) is flowing down to the western zone without any flood barrier." He believed that the house of Deputy Premier Chalerm Yoobamrung, which is in Bang Bon, would be flooded as well." This is from an unmentionable online newspaper.

Seems both political parties are setting up scenarios for the blame game, whereas scientists are saying it's a natural disaster that will ease in central and eastern Bankok, but worsen in areas west of the central city economic/governmental hub.

From posts I am reading here, many people are choosing sides in the blame game already, with very few defections of viewpoint no matter what information they read, meaning those that support one side are geared up to blame the other no matter what, and most such posts are conveniently ignoring incorrect information from their chosen side altogether. Essentially, it means stalemate in perpetuity, aggravated by visiting people -- who are not citizens -- taking sides like this country's political landscape is a cricket match in which most have already placed their bets with the coin of self-interest.

In short, guess who taught the opposition and current government how to spin, lie, misinform and divert attention? ---we did, and this western education was thorough for all involved, excepting the voters.

Can anyone point this floodgate out on a map ? I'm looking for it.

Maybe ... http://maps.google.c...Sam+Wa&t=m&z=12

Thanks,

now i understand more of the problem. Wuite logical that they want that opened more. It drains through BKK straight in the sea. Its madness blocking North to South connections and expecting the locals to endure more hardship.

[webfact]

‘Mob Rule’ Threatens Inner Bangkok With Floods, Governor Warns

By Daniel Ten Kate and Suttinee Yuvejwattana

Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra warned against succumbing to “mob rule” in managing floodwaters on the city’s outskirts, saying the entire country will suffer if waters inundate central business areas.

“It’s no good if we decide to do something either by ourselves or in tandem with the government, and then allow people to change our policy on the ground,” Sukhumbhand said in an interview yesterday. “We cannot give in to mob rule.”

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday ordered city officials to allow more water to flow through the Sam Wa canal, appeasing thousands of residents who have held protests in the flooded northeastern part of the capital. Most of Bangkok will be spared from severe flooding as water moves through the city’s canals toward the Gulf of Thailand, 30 kilometers (19 miles) to the south of the city, she said.

Maintaining the strength of dikes, canals and sandbag barriers on the city’s outskirts is key to protecting inner Bangkok from floodwaters that spread over 63 of Thailand’s 77 provinces over the past three months. The central bank last week slashed its economic growth forecast for 2011 to 2.9 percent from 4.1 percent after floods swamped almost 10,000 factories and threatened to seep into the capital.

Sam Wa canal is north of Bang Chun and Lat Krabang industrial estates, home to factories operated by Honda Motor Co., Unilever and Cadbury Plc, and connects to the Saen Saeb canal that runs near downtown business areas. Honda, Japan’s third-largest car maker, abandoned its full-year profit forecasts yesterday, saying the company can’t yet assess the financial toll of the floods that have already shut one factory.

Who Will Suffer?

“We need to educate people that where flooding is concerned it’s not a zero-sum game,” said Sukhumbhand, a member of the opposition Democrat party. “If Bangkok is crippled, the economy will be crippled. If the economy is crippled, who will suffer most? Certainly not big businesses, but the ordinary people, the workers, the people who send their money home to the provinces.”

The Democrat party won 23 of 33 seats in Bangkok during July elections, while Yingluck’s Pheu Thai party won nine of 10 seats in Pathum Thani and Ayutthaya provinces directly north of the capital, where flooding has reached as high as 3 meters (9.8 feet). Parties linked to Yingluck’s brother, former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, have won the past five elections on support from the northeast, the most populous region where incomes are a third of those in Bangkok.

Water Negotiations

“We negotiated with the residents and agreed to open the gate by 1 meter,” Yingluck said. “We will try to slow down the amount of water and control the water through other gates.”

The decision about which sluice gates to open is made by a committee comprised of members of the government’s flood-control center, city officials, the Irrigation Department and academics, Wim Roongwatanachinda, a spokesman for the Flood Relief Operations Command, said yesterday by phone.

“We opened the flood gate earlier by 80 centimeters and it’s not flooding, so we think we can handle 20 centimeters more,” he said. “What we do, we can explain. There is always an impact on both sides when we open the gate.”

Yingluck ordered Sukhumbhand to open sluice gates in Sam Wa canal yesterday, Jate Sopitpongstorn, a spokesman for the governor, said by phone today.

Rainfall about 42 percent more than average this year filled dams north of Bangkok to capacity, prompting authorities to release more than 9 billion cubic meters of water down a river basin the size of Florida, with Bangkok at the bottom.

Sluice Gate ‘Myth’

Sukhumbhand, who heads the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, rejected criticism that flooding north of the city was made worse because city officials waited too long to open Bangkok’s canal system. Bangkok and its vicinity account for about half of Thailand’s industrial output, according to government statistics.

“This is a myth made up for political reasons,” he said. “We have opened the gates as wide as possible for a very long time and many people in the government found to their surprise that the sluice gates which remained closed were not those of the BMA, but of the Irrigation Department.”

Flooding in the capital is mainly limited to northern and eastern areas and low-lying places near canals, while the business districts of Silom and lower Sukhumvit remain dry and the Suvarnabhumi Airport and public transport links are unaffected. Authorities are still concerned about northern and western districts including Don Mueang, Laksi and Thonburi, where levees are blocking water from flowing into the inner city.

Swamped Airplanes

Yesterday at Don Mueang, Bangkok’s old international airport and the former headquarters of the government’s flood- relief effort, Thai Airways International Pcl jets were parked next to a meter of water spreading across the runway. Several planes sat on the tarmac with water up to their wings.

On the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River, opposite the tourist site of the Grand Palace, residents waded through waist- deep water past submerged cars and food stalls. Small boats ferried residents from a bridge to their submerged homes, past people in kayaks that slowly drifted through the brown water choked with plastic bags.

“Many people are suffering very badly and unless and until we have the means to help them fully, unless we have the opportunity to restore them to their normal lives, we cannot say everything is back to normal,” Sukhumbhand said. “Obviously the psychological damage can never be assessed properly.”

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-01/-mob-rule-threatens-inner-bangkok-with-floods-governor-warns.html

-- businessweek.com 2011-11-01

[weescotsguy66]

What I would like to see if some of these pumps being donated by other kind countries being put into action now, not wait till they are needed for the industrial estate.

I am in one of those villages that is flood in Khlong Si, Lam Luk Ka and yes to limit the scope of the floods would be better than to spread it evenly.

I would also like to see more of those 50,000 troops being assigned to Nakon Sahwon and Ayuttaya where the waters are starting to recede to help in the clean up of those LONG term affected areas to help rebuild their shattered communities and start to work out what the LONG term plan should be for the whole of the country, that may mean some of those rich people we are talking about have their lands taken from them to make way for proper irrigation areas but will most likely be another way to land grab the poor rice farmers land for the New Market price which will leave them out of pocket.

With the all the Army's heavy equipment let us put them to overseeing work to build better flood devices just as they did in New Orleans after hurricanes there.

[robblok]

I am fully in agreement with these people, why should they endure more days of flooding just to keep a few places dry! Here in Don Muang I as still experiencing rising water in my house, I will be unable to work today and will lose income because of it, why should I have a few more days of this if it can be lessened?

Because if the inner centre of Bangkok will be flooded, everything will be much more difficult to organize, communication, economy, helping other people, everything will just collapse.

If you guys fails to see this, you are just not very intelligent.

Everything here in the suburbs of BKK is organised by us.. not by outsiders. You are over estimating how much BKK is helping. Just look at all the wasted supplies at don muang. We arranged a truck and boats.. we buy food as a unit.

come on, you can´t be serious with that comment?

How cant i be serious ? I am living it here. The mayor here of this Muh Bahn (20km above BKK a suburb) aranged for a truck to ferry us. This was not done by BKK. The trucks that drive on the road that is flooded.. are not trucks supplied by Bangkok but from private firms. Many of us bought boats and share them in the village.

Sure some relief comes here but its nothing compared to what we did ourselves. We paid money into a fund to buy sandbags and pumps. We put them there no help from anyone. We rented a caterpillar to help.

SO i think your overstating the help from BKK. Maybe if you lived in a flooded part of the country you would see that you have to help yourself.

[forumuser10]

The short sightedness of many on this forum amazes me. If Bangkok floods, the situation will only get worse.

You see!? This is so typical farang thinking, and add to that, the sense of individualism and independency that is so important in farangland, they just don´t care about each other. They fail to see the big picture.

Edited November 1, 2011 by forumuser10

[abhaya]

I am reminded of the movie “The Man Who Would Be King” (based on a Kipling book). Two fortune hunters venture into the mythical kingdom of Kafiristan, and find bunch of locals who hate the people who live up the river. “Why do you hate these people so much?” to which they reply “Every time we go to the river to bathe the tribe upstream pees in the river”, the protagonists Daniel and Peachy travel further up the river and find the people living there equally loathe the another tribe further up the river, again they ask “Why do you hate these people so much?” to which they reply “Every time we go to the river to bathe the tribe upstream pees in the river”……….. so it goes.

Edited November 1, 2011 by metisdead
Font reset to default forum font.

[forumuser10]

SO i think your overstating the help from BKK. Maybe if you lived in a flooded part of the country you would see that you have to help yourself.

Well, even though your Moo Bahn is very important to you and the people who are affected by the flooding there, you will have to understand that for example, you cut off your whole Moo Bahn from Thailand, or cut off the inner city of Bangkok from Thailand, what will have the largest impact?

Get real.

[inquisitive]

While I may not agree with the actions of these people in forcing open flood gates and tearing down barriers to try and get some relief from the flooding in their area, I can fully understand their anger and frustration.

These people are tired of the property, their houses and their lives being destroyed just save precious Bangkok year after year. How would you feel if your moo ban was flooded year in and year out just to so the one next to you could be saved? If you can imagine that, then you can understand these people and their actions.

While Yingluck & Company can be, and should be, blamed for the mismanagement of this situation, they can't be blamed for the flood itself. And no one can convince me that any other government could/would do a better job.

For to many years the rich and powerful, which means about .05% of the population, have been allowed to destroy what is, supposedly, protected forest areas to build their mansions and resorts, thereby destroying the ecological balance that Mother Nature provided. For too many years these same people have built, or have allowed to be built, factories, housing and condo projects, and other structures in low lying areas that block the natural flow of water, with zero forethought of what might happen. For too many years the experts, both Thai and foreign, have done studies, made recommendations, and issued serious warnings about what could/would happen, but since there was no "graft" or "corruption" money in it for anyone, they were ignored.

If anyone is to blame for this situation it is EVERY member of EVERY government for the past 50+ years since the last flood for not doing what was necessary to prevent it from happening again.

The one good thing from this is now maybe, just maybe, they will listen to the experts and finally do what needs to be done for ALL of Thailand, and not just Bangkok. We can only hope.

I believe that your statements are reasonable and should be taken to heart. At the same time, I believe that you would agree that there must be rule of law. This country has increasingly become ruled by mob as the police apparantly are too afraid to take action against any group greater than one hundred. So with very few exceptions any crimes committed by a large group are simply allowed. Whether or not the mob at the canal had an understandable beef, whether or not they believed they were being treated unfairly, whether or not they liked the decision of the government, they should NOT be allowed to do what they have done. They elected this government. They had their chance to make change. Every group of special interests simply cannot be allowed to do whatever they want whenever they want. Society cannot function that way, and it is the DUTY of the government to prevent such babrarisms.

Where do you draw the line? If you or I go out to do something illegal that will damage thousands of people because it will make us happier or richer, I would guess you would think it right for the police to stop us. If we bring hundreds of our friends along, how would that change the duty of the police? Suppose we had some illegal guns and fired shots into the air like the criminals that are destroying levees? Would THAT suddenly make us right? I mean, what do we have a prime minister for if each group can do whatever they want regardless of its consequences to the rest of the country?

Yes, things have become far too divided, and yes, reconcilliation must be high on the agenda, but first the government must insure the safety of its citizens. Greivances or no greivances, the rabble cannot be allowed to run the country. They all had a fair vote just months ago. They elected their leaders. They cannot claim any right to now become the law unto themselves.

[MILT]

Chiangmai is reaching it's full capacity in people coming here to get out of the flooded areas. The traffic is horrific and the amount of SUV's stuffed with what possessions people have brought. people have found some refuge in Chiangmai and that is a good thing. I hope that the folks controlling the flood situation will get their act together soon and do the right thing. I understand the peoples frustrations and that the least of their worries is Bangkok flooding. After all they have been flooded out for weeks and months. Bangkok needs to be protected at the same time so that the whole blinkin country does not belly up.

[webfact]

Bkk Gov: Bang Pai, Bang Kae told to evacuate while Bang Chan, Klong Sam Wa added to watchlist after opening Sam Wa floodgate /TANN

Bkk Gov: We were 'ordered' to open Sam Wa Canal floodgate, putting several areas at risk./TANN

RT @suthichai: BKK Governor declares "Bangchan Industrial Estate" as "danger zone" now that PM had ordered him to open Samwa water barrier

Bkk Gov: Inability to close floodgates due to protest puts industrial estates in Bang Chan and Lad Krabang at risk. /TANN

[mortenaa]

Donations?!!! You're dreaming. Thai people have no concept of charity! They could watch you die in the street.... Just look how wealth is distributed in a RICH country like Thailand. How many humanitarian THAI organizations do you know of?

What kind of world are you living in? Most of my Thai friends have used their hard earned cash for donations to Red Cross and local flood relief organization. My gf alone have given 3,000 Baht out of a salary around 20,000. How much have you given?

[robblok]

SO i think your overstating the help from BKK. Maybe if you lived in a flooded part of the country you would see that you have to help yourself.

Well, even though your Moo Bahn is very important to you and the people who are affected by the flooding there, you will have to understand that for example, you cut off your whole Moo Bahn from Thailand, or cut off the inner city of Bangkok from Thailand, what will have the largest impact?

Get real.

Of course the center is more important if everyone of the center of BKK were to give 10.000 bt to ease the suffering of others because they wanted to stay dry then yes. It would be fair. Now the people here have nothing to win from keeping BKK dry.

[lensta]

now i understand more of the problem. Wuite logical that they want that opened more. It drains through BKK straight in the sea. Its madness blocking North to South connections and expecting the locals to endure more hardship.

It might GO through Bangkok straight to the sea, but how much will it flood on the way ... especially as it goes past Suvarnabhumi and not far from the Lam Lukka industrial estate.

With Bangkok making up around 40% of the GDP of Thailand, it's understandable they're trying to protect it. The damage is already done in the surrounding areas, does it really have to get even worse? It's terrible for the locals who are now up to their waste in water, but forcing more of Bangkok to flood will not lessen their damage, and will cripple the Thai economy even further.

Besides that, it's pretty insane that the government is allowing local people to affect their plans so much. Normally if people would forcibly try to do major damage to a major city like Bangkok they'd be branded terrorists.... Someone needs to take charge and look at the bigger picture, then enforce the plan for the greater good of the country. If the local police can't handle it, have the army protect the sluice gates and dams....

I 100% agree with you. Also the sluice gate should be protected by the army so that nobody can open it or be forced to open it.

[robblok]

The way i read it, is that Ying luck (i don't like her) has ordered it to be opened to 1m after negotiations. So now they can put the army there to guard it to make sure nobody closes it.

The BMA uses this to blame all other flooding on Ying Luck even area's that cant be affected by this.

I still stand by my opinion that canals should be utilized to drain water. Even if there is an increased risk. But if it flooding areas for sure then this is a bad idea unless water can be pumped out of those area's fast.

I am not for flooding BKK for the sake of flooding it. I just want the water to move it is not going to evaporate. It needs to be drained.

[rogeratkins]

I am fully in agreement with these people, why should they endure more days of flooding just to keep a few places dry! Here in Don Muang I as still experiencing rising water in my house, I will be unable to work today and will lose income because of it, why should I have a few more days of this if it can be lessened?

Because if the inner centre of Bangkok will be flooded, everything will be much more difficult to organize, communication, economy, helping other people, everything will just collapse.

If you guys fails to see this, you are just not very intelligent.

One think I have been witnessed the past weeks is a total LACK of organisation coordination and communication so it will not make so much difference if inner center is flooded or not

Better begin to ask questions how a flood can turn into a disaster . I guess not only the rain was the reason but complete mismanagement of keeping as much waters in their bassins in the North for farming There it all started ...

[pauleddy]

Yes, lesser of two evils, but keep the centre clear. Compounded by bad management and historical lethargy in the first place, sorry to say.

It was always going to be a stupid decision to let the Centre flood. Which is probably why they didn't do it. Banks, hotels, universities and leading hospitals flooded? Government buildings? If they let Westminster, London, flood, then the government would move to bunkers in the hills. The City of London would implode, and half of the planet's finances along with it. Agree or not, up to you, but they wouldn't allow it.

Yes, there are farangs on here who moan because they cannot get meat pies this week. I escaped to Malaysia already. I am one of the lucky ones with access to money and free time. Sorry to be a hypocrite.

Of course, it is fairer and more egalitarian to allow everybody, rich or poor, to wallow in 50cm of water instead of some people in 1 metre. But it is not very practical. If the airport closes along with Nana and Patpong, what would the net effect be? Thailand becomes North Korea. Completely shut off. Forget it.

Rain expected in KL later.

Eddie.

[sirchai]

A divided country a divided city. All this fake pulling together

"If the government cannot control the protesters and if we are not cool down, the earlier announcement that 20 districts will be safe will have to be reevaluated. The situation will worse and all districts will be flooded," the deputy governor said.

Looks pretty much that A doesn't know what B said. But wait...maybe C knows a way to talk to D to find out that H was right........

[sparebox2]

"All Bangkok Districts To Be Flooded If Klong Sam Wa's Sluice Gate Further Opened"

GOOD. I live in bangkok. I am now still dry. I am willing to share the pain and suffering of the other people outside BKK. They pay tax too. Why should I be the only one still dry?

I have no sand bags. If water comes, they are welcome to go into my house. I have move all my staff upstair though, and have done all other precaustion as advised by the lovely Yingluck. Like stock up food & water on the upper floors. Isolate electricity on the lower floor. I have even move the fridge up, which is usually on the ground floor. All my cars and bikes are already in my Pattaya condo.

[Samuian]

Can anyone point this floodgate out on a map ? I'm looking for it.

Maybe ... http://maps.google.c...Sam+Wa&t=m&z=12

Thanks,

now i understand more of the problem. Wuite logical that they want that opened more. It drains through BKK straight in the sea. Its madness blocking North to South connections and expecting the locals to endure more hardship.

I agree but.......lots of those people get their money from selling goods in bangkok or their kids working there and sending home money. Cant have it both ways or you can, have your house flooded either way, but if Bangkok dry then some income too help

seconded!

BUT in times like this, everyones own _rse is closest!

[HomeyG]

Classic. An angry mob of peasants making the decisions.

They need to get the peasants and politicians and 'science and technology' ministers out of the way. Call in some knowledgeable folks who know what they are doing and then actually listen and act upon their suggestions.

I feel for the poor people who are suffering, I honestly do, but flooding more districts/area and people is not gong to help the overall situation, it will only make it worse.

Protect and guard the areas that have not flooded. Get some engineers to tell exactly how much and where to open these gates. Even if all the gates were opened full blast, these areas would still be flooded for some time. Get the experts to examine the situation, not angry people who can only see a small piece of the big picture.

[newermonkey]

"overflow into roadside dishes"

I wish vendors would not leave their dirty dishes on the side of the road.

[hammered]

I wonder on what evidence the deputy governor makes these claims.

I wonder how many remember wading through Siam Square in waist deep water and along Sukhumvit in knees deep stuff in the past? The world didnt come to an end. The company HQs operated as normal. It is probably better to actually have a flood around a high rise building last stop from the sea than to have a flood in an industrial zone that actually produces things when the water cant leave because of a flood wall built around the are the water needs to flow through to reach the sea.

[Arkady]

now i understand more of the problem. Wuite logical that they want that opened more. It drains through BKK straight in the sea. Its madness blocking North to South connections and expecting the locals to endure more hardship.

It might GO through Bangkok straight to the sea, but how much will it flood on the way ... especially as it goes past Suvarnabhumi and not far from the Lam Lukka industrial estate.

Its a canal going straight to the sea.... They are not utilizing it keeping many people flooded deeper and longer. True.. there is a risk.. but id say take it. But that is because i am living flooded (this canal wont affect me)

We are not talking about a canal that goes straight into the sea. We are talking about a network of vertical and horizontal canals. The deputy governor is saying that this action will channel more water into Klong Saen Saep which is a horizontal canal that runs from the Chaopraya across Bkk West to East going along Petchburi Road and Ramhkamhaeng Road and out through East Bkk to the Bangpakong River. At Petchburi/Sukhumvit Soi 71 it forks with Klong Tan to run South to Sukhumvit Road where it meets Klong Prakanong before flowing into the Chaopraya. Causing Saen Saeb to overflow could flood Phyathai, Siam Sq, Chidlom, Ploenchit, all of Sukhmvit to Bang Na, Ramkhamhaeng, Prakanong, Suan Luang etc, etc. I don't think that crippling much of the economy including the tourism industry would really help the angry residents of Sam Wa in the medium term.

[LindsayBKK]

I say open the gate then Bangkok people won't be able to get to the supermarket to buy the Red Shirt Farmers rice. สมน้ำหน้า

How things turn around to bite Yingluck on the a##

Red Shirts do not support Yingluck anymore so their trying to stir up any trouble they can and a flood gate is a good excuse.

[outre99]

While Yingluck & Company can be, and should be, blamed for the mismanagement of this situation, they can't be blamed for the flood itself. And no one can convince me that any other government could/would do a better job.

For to many years the rich and powerful, which means about .05% of the population, have been allowed to destroy what is, supposedly, protected forest areas to build their mansions and resorts, thereby destroying the ecological balance that Mother Nature provided. For too many years these same people have built, or have allowed to be built, factories, housing and condo projects, and other structures in low lying areas that block the natural flow of water, with zero forethought of what might happen. For too many years the experts, both Thai and foreign, have done studies, made recommendations, and issued serious warnings about what could/would happen, but since there was no "graft" or "corruption" money in it for anyone, they were ignored.

If anyone is to blame for this situation it is EVERY member of EVERY government for the past 50+ years since the last flood for not doing what was necessary to prevent it from happening again.

The one good thing from this is now maybe, just maybe, they will listen to the experts and finally do what needs to be done for ALL of Thailand, and not just Bangkok. We can only hope.

It is true that no human could prevent a natural disaster on this scale. But it is also true that the new red government had months of warnings to do something to mitigate the flood. The dams up North did not fill up overnight. It took some time to built up that much water. But instead of heeding the warnings of the dam officials they were focusing on getting their incompetent friends into the positions of power, changing the constitution, and bringing mr T back. It is laughable that now they act like it happened suddenly and unexpectedly. It didn't. The flood waters could have been released gradually instead of all at the same time.

It's definitely a fact that a lot of residential and industrial development took place where it shouldn't have or without proper planning and infrastructure. Definitely the result of the wide spread corruption and no law enforcement whatsoever. But when a new government gives out ministerial positions like some carnival prizes there's no hope of any kind of improvement. You know it's bad when the professional diplomats at the Foreign Affairs department go publicly on record to state that the new Foreign Affairs minister appointment is the worst possible. At the time when Thailand's international standing and relations with the neighbors are at their lowest they guy who doesn't even speak English gets appointed to be a Foreign minister.

This disaster is of the government's making. And now the overwhelming majorities from the North East of the country and of Bangkok metropolitan areas who gave us this clown government are under water and are trying to flood the rest of the city and the country's economic heart. Just another stupid move by the shortsighted. The phrase "I told you so" comes to mind. A real government would have a plan and would direct its resources to executing it. The fact that they are unable to even protect whatever feeble measures they were able to put together only serves to undermine whatever credibility they have left even further. Maybe Yingluck should stop crying so much, we already got enough water. The incompetent are leading the stupid, and everybody else suffers.