Bangkok Flood Update

[Nisa]

Does anybody know how much water evaporates from a water surface under current circumstances??

I read somewhere that under perfect conditions (sunny, warm, dry air) it can be up to one inch (2.5cms)

If correct, that would be a gigantic amount of water over time

I did a search online to see if there was an "easy" answer and there is not but the closest I found is that people in the pool industry in Texas (hot & humid climate) expect a pool to lose 1" to 1.5" of water in a week through evaporation.

What I did find is there really are just too many variables and complicated math involved for an easy accurate answer.

[SiamRose]

Since Mr Catterwell is so intelligent and well connected I would really like it if he could tell us how many goals Manchester United will score this weekend. I just hope he doesn't fall into the obvious trap and say "none, because they aren't playing".

[volk666]

Here, north of Klong Samwa gate, the flood had come and gone, like a wave. The crest on this side of Bangkok is somewhere approaching Bangkapi and Suwarnabhumi, there's no more water coming it, just the tail. The highest levels reported on Ramkhamhaeng weren't enough to stop even small car traffic and they've probably seen the worst already.

Similar story is reported on Vibhavadi and Phaholyothin - water levels at the northern edge of the giant puddle have started to drop, it is still moving slowly to the south but it doesn't look scary anymore, like ankle or at most knee deep.

Any theory that doesn't offer an explanation for these phenomena looks suspicious to me. Maybe it's the big bags and we'll see the second wave after they fail but there are people who claim their effect is minimal anyway.

I don't know how reliable the information that Caterwell used for his prediction is but the part about Klong Samwa is seriously overblown. The gate is small, hardly 5m wide, it can't possibly flood the entire city and the damage to it was minimal. At this point klongs branching to the east from Samwa see water flowing very very fast, ie there's no build up in this area and draining east works just fine.

I'm not an expert but we have people like Dr Seri who run all around the place taking measurements everywhere and building models and even they get things wrong. Caterwell might be a smart guy but he doesn't seem to be equally informed.

[Sunderland]

Water dropping north and south of the big bags suggests that the worst of the water has passed for northern Bangkok. There are pockets (certain sois) where the water is trapped due to elevation, but the bigger problem still remains on the west side of the river from Bangbuathong in western Nonthaburi all the way south down through Thonburi.

With little water following behind, it can only be a matter of days before the water mass begins to drain away in the northern outskirts of Bangkok. Hopefully those trapped in the pockets that are flooded around the big bags will also get much more rapid assistance to drain their sois and villages as quickly as possible.

[wayned]

OOPS! What about the water they are releasing from Bumibol dam so that they can have boat races in Tak? They really don't have a clue.

Water dropping north and south of the big bags suggests that the worst of the water has passed for northern Bangkok. There are pockets (certain sois) where the water is trapped due to elevation, but the bigger problem still remains on the west side of the river from Bangbuathong in western Nonthaburi all the way south down through Thonburi.

With little water following behind, it can only be a matter of days before the water mass begins to drain away in the northern outskirts of Bangkok. Hopefully those trapped in the pockets that are flooded around the big bags will also get much more rapid assistance to drain their sois and villages as quickly as possible.

Edited November 12, 2011 by wayned

[Sunderland]

OOPS! What about the water they are releasing from Bumibol dam so that they can have boat races in Tak? They really don't have a clue.

Water dropping north and south of the big bags suggests that the worst of the water has passed for northern Bangkok. There are pockets (certain sois) where the water is trapped due to elevation, but the bigger problem still remains on the west side of the river from Bangbuathong in western Nonthaburi all the way south down through Thonburi.

With little water following behind, it can only be a matter of days before the water mass begins to drain away in the northern outskirts of Bangkok. Hopefully those trapped in the pockets that are flooded around the big bags will also get much more rapid assistance to drain their sois and villages as quickly as possible.

Water released by the dams right now is much less of a factor. The water mass has reached the middle of both western and eastern Bangkok. There will be further water moving through the fields at a slower rate, but the depth of flooding will no longer be significant to inner Bangkok districts. For areas in Pathum Thani, western Nonthaburi, Thonburi and eastern districts of Bangkok it will take a few more weeks for the water to recede, perhaps longer in some districts.