No More Floods In Next 5 Years: Virabongsa

[KKK]

Why not just declare Thailand "The Asian Hub of Disasters" and then they wouldn't have to do anything except count the money made from the extra tourism...........

[Topah]

Dont you know already that this was manmade operation... whole flood thing. Man said he won't arrange another in next 5 years which is great in my opinion.

[thaikahuna]

This guy is off to a flying start- spewing crap about something that is beyond his knowledge or control. Should give foreign investors a nice warm fuzzy feeling.

Not to mention that if the current flood waters are still standing when the next monsoon season arrives, this could look like a Saturday night bath if the rains come in the same amounts as this year.

[maidu]

That reminds me to the same situation I was in way back to 1993. I was trying to convince one of our major power generation & flood control reservoir owner (my employer) to start releasing more water as its dam approaching 80% capacity. My suggestion was ignored. Worse that that I was made a laughing stock by executives and ordinary staff for suggesting to them "the impossible scenario". I quote the painful remark from the GM of the dam. He said " Mind your own business and let us to take care of the flood that you think will come this year". During that time that was a myth many believed that the dam is invincible to deal with the biggest flood over the next 50 years! But not for long. Three weeks later there was a not so big flood struck. Ill prepared to deal with such situation caused excessive water had to be released in short period of time. It flooded vast area downstream. Ten of thousands populations displaced from their homes. A small town of about 20 thousands inhabitants near the river mouth was about 3meter under water. I was one of the staff who regulated the dam discharged during the event. Yes, I was beaten by flood once. That made me to come up stronger today. I came back stronger by beaten at least two big floods since then....

Today, the authorities in power generation & flood control dams in my country take up seriously my suggestion. In 2009, based on my improved strategy to deal with floods we saved one big flood for one of our major power generation & flood control dams. The dam is slightly smaller than Sirkit dam in term of storage size but bigger in term of power generation. The flood that we have managed to deal with is the biggest in 40 years (The biggest so far). In 2004, for the same dam that I was beaten in 1993 when I was a front line operator managed to deal with even bigger than the one that had beaten us before. Today I am one of the resource persons related to dams operations for my employer.

That is one thing top decision makers for major flood dams don't realize. The people behind the dams round the clock 24/7/365 days sometimes can feel the danger is in the making by looking at how their dams water levels changes daily.

thanks for your post, ResX. Good to hear from someone 'on the inside' of the nuts and bolts of flood avoidance (sorry to mix idioms). You sound like you're a Thai. We need more like you at the helm.

Edited November 10, 2011 by maidu

[anterian]

Minister for overseeing redistribution opportunities now?

18 points of negativity...................

First response from Thai Visa denizens.

How sad you all are.

Correction to add rubl's ( what does that mean anyway) erudite contribution.

21 posts of neg.

RUBL = first two letters of first name followed by first to letters of family name.

As for my post, just indication that politicians seem seldomly hindered by too much knowledge concerning the subject they have just been appointed to manage / solve

(PS: not really specific for Thailand though)

(as your post is #21 you seem not to exclude yourself. BTW two posts are the topic #1 and #2)

As RUBL knows I normally am supportive of Yingluck's attempts to sort things out, but not this one, this guy is a "know nothing" loud mouth. All I can hope is that he has a good team of scientific advisers and actually listens to them. But I have strong doubts on both counts.

[hammered]

Minister for overseeing redistribution opportunities now?

18 points of negativity...................

First response from Thai Visa denizens.

How sad you all are.

Correction to add rubl's ( what does that mean anyway) erudite contribution.

21 posts of neg.

RUBL = first two letters of first name followed by first to letters of family name.

As for my post, just indication that politicians seem seldomly hindered by too much knowledge concerning the subject they have just been appointed to manage / solve

(PS: not really specific for Thailand though)

(as your post is #21 you seem not to exclude yourself. BTW two posts are the topic #1 and #2)

As RUBL knows I normally am supportive of Yingluck's attempts to sort things out, but not this one, this guy is a "know nothing" loud mouth. All I can hope is that he has a good team of scientific advisers and actually listens to them. But I have strong doubts on both counts.

This and the other appointment have been made with political considerations in account. They are both choices that will satisfy elite critics of this government and who will be difficult for those critics to attack. It is similar to the decision that Samak once took to appoint a foreign minister. Whatever way you look in Thailand the political consideration is there, and it doesnt even matter who is in power.

[flap48]

I suspect a bill will be passed in parliament to redefine "disaster".

It is obvious that none of the polititions go to the Chinese temples every where around the countryside that are feverously trying to take people away from the traditional Thai temples because if they did they would know that passing a disaster bill would be a waste of time , because those high up in the chinese temples are telling their followers that next year there is going to be such a big flood ( of the Ark and biblicle proportion ) that everyone is going to die. My lady told me and when i said b--l s--t , she got most upset that i would know more than the demi-gods or what ever of the temple. Anyway, no one need get upset with the Thai gov, because we are all going to die next year anyway. I will drink to that and again in a year's time when i'm saying to the Thai's around here, "see i f------g told you so ". !!!!!!!!!!!!

[wxyz]

better build another dam, a sea wall with lots of pumps, more & deeper canals

otherwise, buy a houseboat

Edited November 10, 2011 by wxyz

[ResX]

That reminds me to the same situation I was in way back to 1993. I was trying to convince one of our major power generation & flood control reservoir owner (my employer) to start releasing more water as its dam approaching 80% capacity. My suggestion was ignored. Worse that that I was made a laughing stock by executives and ordinary staff for suggesting to them "the impossible scenario". I quote the painful remark from the GM of the dam. He said " Mind your own business and let us to take care of the flood that you think will come this year". During that time that was a myth many believed that the dam is invincible to deal with the biggest flood over the next 50 years! But not for long. Three weeks later there was a not so big flood struck. Ill prepared to deal with such situation caused excessive water had to be released in short period of time. It flooded vast area downstream. Ten of thousands populations displaced from their homes. A small town of about 20 thousands inhabitants near the river mouth was about 3meter under water. I was one of the staff who regulated the dam discharged during the event. Yes, I was beaten by flood once. That made me to come up stronger today. I came back stronger by beaten at least two big floods since then....

Today, the authorities in power generation & flood control dams in my country take up seriously my suggestion. In 2009, based on my improved strategy to deal with floods we saved one big flood for one of our major power generation & flood control dams. The dam is slightly smaller than Sirkit dam in term of storage size but bigger in term of power generation. The flood that we have managed to deal with is the biggest in 40 years (The biggest so far). In 2004, for the same dam that I was beaten in 1993 when I was a front line operator managed to deal with even bigger than the one that had beaten us before. Today I am one of the resource persons related to dams operations for my employer.

That is one thing top decision makers for major flood dams don't realize. The people behind the dams round the clock 24/7/365 days sometimes can feel the danger is in the making by looking at how their dams water levels changes daily.

thanks for your post, ResX. Good to hear from someone 'on the inside' of the nuts and bolts of flood avoidance (sorry to mix idioms). You sound like you're a Thai. We need more like you at the helm.

Your welcome. I'm from a country that at this moment preparing ourselves to face the coming of floods, next after Thailand. Our major dams are well prepared & better designed. Two of our biggest dams do not have any sluice gate. They use very efficient flood control spillway, which is called a free flow spillway. That reduce the burden for making the wrong water releases.

I'm one of the resource persons who develop flood deterrent strategy for 6 our our biggest dams in my country. We were told to expect big floods, probably as big as the floods that hit Thailand this year. Such speculation changes little the way we prepare our dams to face the coming floods although it has to be considered as one of the valuable inputs.

[flap48]

I suspect a bill will be passed in parliament to redefine "disaster".

According to the top echelon of the Chinese temples, a huge disaster is to befall us all next year. it is supposed to rain so much that we will have a flood of biblical and ARC size that we are all going to die, or so they are telling their followers, ie; my Thai partner. When i told her B--- ---t she got quite upset that i would know more than her temple teachers. So if anyone in the goverment goes to these chinese temples then they would know that it is useless preparing for the future anyway, because ther is not going to one. !!!!!! or maybe big money over comes earth shattering predictions and b--- ---t anyway. !!!!!!

[rockdoc]

A self proclaimed mor doo. Another joke and this guy has influence? Is it any wonder Thailand is a joke these days?

That's the trouble isn't it - too many "mor doo's", not enough "can do's"

Reminiscent of Takki promising to solve all Bangkok's traffic woes in 6 months, perhaps?

[Payboy]

Reminiscent of Takki promising to solve all Bangkok's traffic woes in 6 months, perhaps?

It's taken some time and he even had to get lil' sis to do it, but traffic problems on Vibhawadi Rangsit and a few other major roads are solved as we speak.

[rogerdee123]

Reminiscent of Takki promising to solve all Bangkok's traffic woes in 6 months, perhaps?

It's taken some time and he even had to get lil' sis to do it, but traffic problems on Vibhawadi Rangsit and a few other major roads are solved as we speak.

Don't start counting the chickens yet .... someone was talking about a "second wave" on the way. Anyone here know anything about this? Should I get out the surfboard?

[Payboy]

Reminiscent of Takki promising to solve all Bangkok's traffic woes in 6 months, perhaps?

It's taken some time and he even had to get lil' sis to do it, but traffic problems on Vibhawadi Rangsit and a few other major roads are solved as we speak.

Don't start counting the chickens yet .... someone was talking about a "second wave" on the way. Anyone here know anything about this? Should I get out the surfboard?

Second wave? That should solve inner city Bangkok traffic as well then.

[bigbamboo]

Is this is what is meant by Miracle Thailand?

[maidu]

I went to the Bkk Baptist church, spread my arms, and said, "Lordy lordy, can I get a witness."

The archangels must have misunderstood my accent, because all I got was a wetness.