Flood Nears Inner Bangkok

[Jerrytheyoung]

My Prediction: In 6 months the flood will be forgotten. In one year, nothing will have changed.

The only change will be the 800 Billion Baht of Yingluck's The New Thailand Project will be gone.

.

Another change is that instead of Mercedes Benz, they will buy speed boats

[hellodolly]

In the end its just one hell of a lot of water and Bangkok is in the way

You are trying to confuse the Government with facts.

It would appear that all their efforts to save the inner core of Bangkok are to no avail and in fact making the problem worse. The water will find it's way to the sea and to try to stop it just allows it to stay longer.

[travelmann]

People seem to underestimate the power of the sun to simply evaporate a lot of the water, it wont stay forever.

[LTGTR]

And just how high above water is BKK,without the floods?

In the end its just one hell of a lot of water and Bangkok is in the way

nature will always win... and you can't change the law of gravity...

even technologically sophisticated and relatively wealthy countries can't control nature... just look at the Mississippi flooding earlier this year and the Aussie floods...

Mississippi is practically a third world state in the U.S.

Yeah, and what's the population of Mississippi? Does its capital have 12 million residents? Did its capital city flood?

Not to say the US is free from critique - building so heavily on sinking marshland (New Orleans) was not our finest hour.

[BCP]

Cannot stop Mother Nature at this point. She's has always been in control. Even now!!

Water flows towards the sea, not up into the mountains.

Hopefully, Thai government officials and experts not only from Thailand can come together to assist Thailand with this major issue.

Absolutely, you can never stop something as powerful as Mother Nature. However, there are an awful lot of things that can be done to mitigate the effects. If managed properly this can lessen the suffering. If managed incompetently it increases the suffering. Judge for yourselves where Thailand is at right now with this issue.

[meom]

People seem to underestimate the power of the sun to simply evaporate a lot of the water, it wont stay forever.

Specially if the Science minister comes up with an innovative idea to speed up the rate of evaporation

[finnomick1]

For my sixpence-worth, and I'm no expert, why not channel the unwanted water to areas where it is wanted by building a system of canals ? In the north-east of Thailand, Bururam area, we've had quite a lot of water this year. Rice crops doing nicely etc. We had even more water here 3 years ago, but in between, drought. Last year our rice crop failed due to NO water, not one grain of rice and this was the same for a huge area. We WANT water, we NEED water, so channel it here and save precious Bangkok the same misery it's currently having in the future. Far cheaper to build canals heading east than to try and circumnavigate Bangkok.....in my opinion

[metisdead]

Inflammatory posts have been removed. Other posts have been deleted for failure to use quote function leading to misunderstanding of who posted what.

[Orac]

For my sixpence-worth, and I'm no expert, why not channel the unwanted water to areas where it is wanted by building a system of canals ? In the north-east of Thailand, Bururam area, we've had quite a lot of water this year. Rice crops doing nicely etc. We had even more water here 3 years ago, but in between, drought. Last year our rice crop failed due to NO water, not one grain of rice and this was the same for a huge area. We WANT water, we NEED water, so channel it here and save precious Bangkok the same misery it's currently having in the future. Far cheaper to build canals heading east than to try and circumnavigate Bangkok.....in my opinion

Hopefully the big conversations that need to go on about how this situation can be averted next time will not just concentrate on Bangkok but also address the flooding problems that happen all over Thailand. One of the biggest things that need to be realised is that weather and natural geography are powerful forces to counter. Also these problems are not just confined to Thailand and the massive dam building programs going on in the region will have an impact on this in the future.

One thing to bear in mind is the Isaan plataeu is fairly high with a lot of it over 500 feet above sea level - to move water from the lower central plains to Isaan would not be as straightforward as building canals. The best source for water for this area would probably be from the north via the Mekhong but, with the current dams being built this source might be compromised.

[jimbeam1]

For my sixpence-worth, and I'm no expert, why not channel the unwanted water to areas where it is wanted by building a system of canals ? In the north-east of Thailand, Bururam area, we've had quite a lot of water this year. Rice crops doing nicely etc. We had even more water here 3 years ago, but in between, drought. Last year our rice crop failed due to NO water, not one grain of rice and this was the same for a huge area. We WANT water, we NEED water, so channel it here and save precious Bangkok the same misery it's currently having in the future. Far cheaper to build canals heading east than to try and circumnavigate Bangkok.....in my opinion

In my opinion it really is as easy as that.

When I lived in Korat, the first year we had plenty of rain, fantastic crop. The second year we had a drought. Also no Rice. Up river from us they damned the river, so we didn't get any water and that kept happening further back also.

For sure an irrigation project of the size required would cost an enormous amount of money, plus provide a lot of jobs But once in place and MANAGED properly I am sure that Thailand would see great results.

jb1

[Just1Voice]

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. This is a problem that has been staring every government for the past 50+ years right in the face. Experts, both Thai and Dutch, have been commissioned to do studies, evaluations and make recommendations, with most of them also warning about what would/could happen eventually. Once they were done, they were thanked, sent on their way and the reports stuck on a shelf, in a drawer, or simply trashed. More than likely because there just wasn't enough graft or corruption in it for the "powers that be". And while a few billion baht has supposedly been spent to upgrade the "water management" capabilities of Bangkok, we all know a huge chuck of that money ended up in bank accounts, and even then, nothing was ever considered for anything outside of BKK.

We can all be critical of the mismanagement of this government, but no one can guarantee me that any other government would have been able to handle the situation better. NO ONE was prepared for this, and no one really has a clue as to what to do. All their efforts to block & divert are not working, as Mother Nature has her own plan.

There is going to be tremendous damage in property, business and lives resulting from this, and the best we can all hope for is that it will serve as a "wake up call" to finally start doing what needs to be done for ALL of Thailand to prevent this from happening again.

Unfortunately, with the documented changes in weather patterns, the current situation may not be cleaned up in time before the monsoon rains hit the north again, which will only exacerbate the situation in the south. There is the possibility, and this is only speculation on my behalf, that parts of this country may remain submerged for a long, long time to come. We can only wait and see.

[Skywalker69]

As a farang when I saw how upper Thailand was being seriously flooded , images of the water coming to Bangkok never entered my mind. But those "old timers" (Thais) and experts should have known this massive "lake" would have to flow out of the basin. It seems nothing was said until it was at Bangkok's back door.

Many knew that this would be coming and rang alarm bells, but nobody listened. they were busy with strategic placement of political staff. Sad but true.

Yes, it was so myopic... And look at the staff they placed.

Utterly incompetent in so many case.

Exactly, and it´s the ordinary people whom will have to pay the prize.

[khaan]

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. This is a problem that has been staring every government for the past 50+ years right in the face. Experts, both Thai and Dutch, have been commissioned to do studies, evaluations and make recommendations, with most of them also warning about what would/could happen eventually. Once they were done, they were thanked, sent on their way and the reports stuck on a shelf, in a drawer, or simply trashed. More than likely because there just wasn't enough graft or corruption in it for the "powers that be". And while a few billion baht has supposedly been spent to upgrade the "water management" capabilities of Bangkok, we all know a huge chuck of that money ended up in bank accounts, and even then, nothing was ever considered for anything outside of BKK.

We can all be critical of the mismanagement of this government, but no one can guarantee me that any other government would have been able to handle the situation better. NO ONE was prepared for this, and no one really has a clue as to what to do. All their efforts to block & divert are not working, as Mother Nature has her own plan.

There is going to be tremendous damage in property, business and lives resulting from this, and the best we can all hope for is that it will serve as a "wake up call" to finally start doing what needs to be done for ALL of Thailand to prevent this from happening again.

Unfortunately, with the documented changes in weather patterns, the current situation may not be cleaned up in time before the monsoon rains hit the north again, which will only exacerbate the situation in the south. There is the possibility, and this is only speculation on my behalf, that parts of this country may remain submerged for a long, long time to come. We can only wait and see.

someone mentioned that Jakarta Indonesia has a similar problem to what is happening in Bangkok now on an annual basis?

I don't know if this is true or not.

If this is the case do they manage it more effectively than Bangkok and are there any lessons that the Indonesians can teach the Thai's ?

Edited November 5, 2011 by khaan

[scorecard]

People seem to underestimate the power of the sun to simply evaporate a lot of the water, it wont stay forever.

Specially if the Science minister comes up with an innovative idea to speed up the rate of evaporation

Maybe he could organize for the 1,000 propellers to be positioned above the water, put on full speed and this would cause it all to dry up instantly. Just like putting your wet shirt in front of the fan to dry it out. Great idea.

[siampolee]

Exactly, and it´s the ordinary people whom will have to pay the prize.

the prize. Freudian slip perchance ?

[Foggy Bottom]

For my sixpence-worth, and I'm no expert, why not channel the unwanted water to areas where it is wanted by building a system of canals ? In the north-east of Thailand, Bururam area, we've had quite a lot of water this year. Rice crops doing nicely etc. We had even more water here 3 years ago, but in between, drought. Last year our rice crop failed due to NO water, not one grain of rice and this was the same for a huge area. We WANT water, we NEED water, so channel it here and save precious Bangkok the same misery it's currently having in the future. Far cheaper to build canals heading east than to try and circumnavigate Bangkok.....in my opinion

One slight problem with that idea is that Buriram is more than 1000 feet higher than the central plains

.... and "last year" saw the worst floods in Isaan in decades - flood water was still standing in the fields in February after October's rains.

[Just1Voice]

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. This is a problem that has been staring every government for the past 50+ years right in the face. Experts, both Thai and Dutch, have been commissioned to do studies, evaluations and make recommendations, with most of them also warning about what would/could happen eventually. Once they were done, they were thanked, sent on their way and the reports stuck on a shelf, in a drawer, or simply trashed. More than likely because there just wasn't enough graft or corruption in it for the "powers that be". And while a few billion baht has supposedly been spent to upgrade the "water management" capabilities of Bangkok, we all know a huge chuck of that money ended up in bank accounts, and even then, nothing was ever considered for anything outside of BKK.

We can all be critical of the mismanagement of this government, but no one can guarantee me that any other government would have been able to handle the situation better. NO ONE was prepared for this, and no one really has a clue as to what to do. All their efforts to block & divert are not working, as Mother Nature has her own plan.

There is going to be tremendous damage in property, business and lives resulting from this, and the best we can all hope for is that it will serve as a "wake up call" to finally start doing what needs to be done for ALL of Thailand to prevent this from happening again.

Unfortunately, with the documented changes in weather patterns, the current situation may not be cleaned up in time before the monsoon rains hit the north again, which will only exacerbate the situation in the south. There is the possibility, and this is only speculation on my behalf, that parts of this country may remain submerged for a long, long time to come. We can only wait and see.

someone mentioned that Jakarta Indonesia has a similar problem to what is happening in Bangkok now on an annual basis?

I don't know if this is true or not.

If this is the case do they manage it more effectively than Bangkok and are there any lessons that the Indonesians can teach the Thai's ?

Yes, Jakarta DID have the same problem every year. They finally decided something needed to be one. They brought in the experts, both Indonesian and foreign, and eventually built a water management system both above and below ground. One of the things they did was dig a massive tunnel that, in normal times handles traffic, but during monsoon floods, traffic is rerouted and the tunnel serves as a giant drainage system that all the other systems drain into. Yes, Thailand/BKK could very well benefit from something such as this, but only if it can be done correctly, which means bringing in REAL experts, and doing away with all the graft and corruption, and we all know that's not going to happen. But as I said in my op, experts, both Thai and foreign, have been telling and warning the governments for the past 50+ years about what could/would happen, but no one bothered to listen. Now they're paying the price for it.

[puipuitom]

As a farang when I saw how upper Thailand was being seriously flooded , images of the water coming to Bangkok never entered my mind. But those "old timers" (Thais) and experts should have known this massive "lake" would have to flow out of the basin. It seems nothing was said until it was at Bangkok's back door.

But THAT would have meant: loss of face to several government officials and all politicians in charge since the floods of 1942 and especially 1995. Better bring entire 15-20 mln Greater Bangkokians + all north of that in danger, cause a loss so big nobody can pronounce it and hurt Thai economics for at least a decade. So, send all Thais to temple to pray seen their bad karma, and for next election pay 30 baht per vote instead of normal 20 baht.

Remind: the worse still has to come: toilets and sewers are flushed the other way, bringing a lot of filth and bacteria in the flood water. Many drowned dogs, cats and rats in the water. So await diseases.

Many factories are closed for quite some time. You really believe, overseas customers did not switch to other origins, and will return ?

This all aside of the huge loss of personal belongings and present incomes, as.. for many weeks and months nothing was earned.

Every nation gets its government is deserves. ( too lazy and too stupid to watch their own nations' interests)

My opionion: bring all responsable politiciens of at least the last 50 years in court for doing nothing after the 1942 flood. Especially those after the 1995 flood. Other nations, like the Dutch, Germans, and Flemish built dikes along their rivers already 800 years ago.

Edited November 5, 2011 by puipuitom

[tim73]

Maybe this crisis finally starts that much waited real political change in Thailand. 1997 economic crisis started real changes in South Korea. They lost their faces quite badly because government had to borrow money from IMF.

If it does not this time, "thanks" to the climate change, flood "lessons" will just keep on coming...

[Wiggy]

is the water actually going anywhere or has this whole area just become and extention of the Gulf of Thailand ???

I had a chill up my spine a couple of weeks ago when I wondered the very same question?

What if this is the new " normal " ?

With global warming and changing environmental concerns within Thailand it could very well be the start of a new "normal." If so Bangkok is pretty screwed. The fact that a fifth of the city can be inundated in a couple week's time despite reassurances means they are in deep denial.

Global warming blah, blah, blah. Evidence please. This year was a La Nina year meaning more rainfall than normal. That's what we got and it was mismanaged. Simple as.

[Jingthing]

There are still man made global climate change deniers? Hilarious.

[SamSipEt]

People seem to underestimate the power of the sun to simply evaporate a lot of the water, it wont stay forever.

Specially if the Science minister comes up with an innovative idea to speed up the rate of evaporation

Well he has produced a lot of hot air recently do you think that might help?

[Wiggy]

There are still man made global climate change deniers? Hilarious.

I was talking about global warming, not climate change - two separate things.

[travelmann]

There are still man made global climate change deniers? Hilarious.

No dafter than God believers

[siampolee]

There are still man made global climate change deniers? Hilarious.

Enough hot air coming from F.R.O.C. to certainly change the climate and indeed the dry usable Thai land mass it seems.

[khaan]

is the water actually going anywhere or has this whole area just become and extention of the Gulf of Thailand ???

I had a chill up my spine a couple of weeks ago when I wondered the very same question?

What if this is the new " normal " ?

With global warming and changing environmental concerns within Thailand it could very well be the start of a new "normal." If so Bangkok is pretty screwed. The fact that a fifth of the city can be inundated in a couple week's time despite reassurances means they are in deep denial.

Global warming blah, blah, blah. Evidence please. This year was a La Nina year meaning more rainfall than normal. That's what we got and it was mismanaged. Simple as.

Excuse me smarty-pants how can you possibly know it's not going to happen again next year?

" La Niña is defined as cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific ocean that impact global weather patterns. La Niña conditions recur every few years and can persist for as long as two years. "

[BuffaloRescue]

Think of all that new river view property that has been created! Why complain? People even pay more to look at swimming pools these days

[RickBradford]

There are still man made global climate change deniers? Hilarious.

Since the whole man-made global warming scam has blown away like a dried-up chicken turd over the past 2 years, there are no "deniers" -- just level-headed adults who refused to be swayed into gibbering terror by alarmist cries from the likes of rent-seeking groups like WWF and Greenpeace.

[MaxYakov]

Climate change 'Nears Inner Bangkok' - extreme humidity is forecast.

[thaibeachlovers]

is the water actually going anywhere or has this whole area just become and extention of the Gulf of Thailand ???

I had a chill up my spine a couple of weeks ago when I wondered the very same question?

What if this is the new " normal " ?

With global warming and changing environmental concerns within Thailand it could very well be the start of a new "normal." If so Bangkok is pretty screwed. The fact that a fifth of the city can be inundated in a couple week's time despite reassurances means they are in deep denial.

Global warming blah, blah, blah. Evidence please. This year was a La Nina year meaning more rainfall than normal. That's what we got and it was mismanaged. Simple as.

In that case, there should have been the same crisis every Nina year, and there hasn't been.

Please get with the programme folks. It's climate change, not global warming, any more.

As for humans causing it- how much carbon do all the volcanic eruptions put into the atmosphere?

Man made global warming is the biggest scam in history. Anyway, how many of you that believe gave up cars and air travel? My betting is ZERO!