Flood Warning For Bang Chan: Bangkok

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Flood warning for Bang Chan

The Nation

Factories based in Bangkok's Bang Chan Industrial Estate were told yesterday to move their machinery and raw materials to higher ground as water levels in a swamp next to the complex had risen by more than a metre.

The government's coordination centre for flood prevention and solution yesterday issued a "Stage 1" warning, advising factory owners to closely monitor reports and developments.

Yongyuth Thongsuk, deputy permanent secretary for the Industry Ministry, said after a meeting with the coordination centre yesterday that factory owners were aware that the water level in Krathiem Swamp to the north of the estate was rising due to run-offs.

Water from the swamp has already seeped through flood barriers behind one factory, though soldiers managed to plug the cracks later. Officials also used pumps to push water from the Krathiem Swamp into the nearby Bang Chan Canal and then Saen Saeb Canal.

He said the walls of some factories needed additional reinforcement and were currently being strengthened with steel pipes and sandbags.

Supap Kleekrajai, vice minister for Industry Ministry, said yesterday that given the current situation, he was convinced the Bang Chan Industrial Estate would be protected from widespread flooding as the strength of the run-offs is not as strong as those that flooded the industrial parks in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra agreed, saying that the flood-defence measures for Bang Chan were sufficient to protect the estate.

"I believe it is unlikely to be affected [by flooding]," she said, adding that her government was also asking upstream provinces where the water is receding to return their water pumps so they can be used in Bangkok.

Thanawat Pholwichai, director of Thai Chamber of Commerce University's Centre for Economy and Business Forecasting, said flooding in Bangkok's Bang Chan and Lat Krabang industrial estates and other city areas would cause damage worth about Bt450 billion.

He said the crisis would also slow down the country's gross domestic product growth to between 1.5 to 2.5 per cent, and slow rehabilitation efforts would result in a GDP growth of only 1.5 per cent.

-- The Nation 2011-11-11

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Life on the edge in Bang Chan

The Nation

As parts of Ayutthaya have begun to dry, it's others' turn to be extremely nervous. The Nation's Pravit Rojanaphruk spent two days at the flood-besieged Bangchan and Lat Krabang industrial estates east of Bangkok to see how the mood is over there

A 50-something sales manager looks pensive and with alarm in his eyes as half a dozen soldiers busy themselves stuffing sandbags into the water drainage hole in front of the Saha Union factory at Bangchan Industrial Estate in Min Buri district of Bangkok in the afternoon.

Water has been gushing out from the drain for days now and the three-lane Seri Thai Road is now under some 20-40cm of water.

"This could be the water level," said the bespectacled Saha manager in a crisp white shirt, who asked not to be named. "But we're still dry inside."

The manager explained that the factory has set up two layers of defence. A two-metre-plus wall reinforced by sandbags can be seen from the front. He explained to me, however, that unlike other industrial estates, Bangchan doesn't have a collective defence system against Thailand's worst flood in more than five decades. It also has two canals cut through the area. The manager added that the absence of a common water dyke for the whole estate might prove to be a blessing in disguise as they simply try to allow water to be channelled through the canal system instead of pushing it back and building it up into a wall-high mass of flood water.

"It may end up becoming an asset," he said.

Some 30 out of 90 factories in the estate have decided to cease production and evacuate. The area is now surrounded by shallow but increasing water levels on all sides. Others have tried to convince nearby residents to accept more drainage water. Avuth Nisomboon, for example, told a television news programme yesterday that such initiatives are working well and the Army is doing its best to help with the negotiations.

Soon, Adisak Adam, a nervous neighbour from a nearby residential estate which is not under water stepped in to inquire about the source of the gushing water. After some debate, the two agreed that despite the Army's hard work and the several one-tonne big bags placed along the road in front, there is no guarantee that the area will be spared the worst in the days ahead.

"I have no confidence," confessed Adisak, a resident of Perfect Place residential estate. Adisak added the government has been saying it would be able to contain the water in this or that area, but to no avail.

"Yeah, they did say they would be able to save seven industrial estates," the Saha Union manager pitched in, referring to the now submerged estates in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani provinces.

Things are less critical, at least for the time being, at Lat Krabang Industrial Estate, some 15 minutes drive further south of eastern Bangkok.

Termsak Techakanok, vice president of Mahachon Motor Company whose factory is located inside the estate, told me that although most factories had spent weeks putting up an elaborate system of floodwalls around their factories, he decided to place auto parts of the old 6-10 wheelers he had imported from Japan for refurbishment on layers of wooden crates or car tyres up to a metre high.

Termsak said Lat Krabang Industrial Estate would probably escape the fate of seven other estates because they're further south and the water volume reaching here may not be as massive as those faced by other estates further north.

Some factories, he said, had told their workers to go home due to the fear of the encroaching water from all sides but after weeks of waiting for floods, they decided to resume operations.

"I don't think there will be more than 50 to 80 centimetres of water arriving," said Termsak. He took me on a tour around the large 1,000-rai-plus estate, which produces various goods, including chocolates, bread and motorcycle engines. Termsak also added that the Army has been putting up various kinds of barriers and dykes over the weeks.

At Honda Motors, the two-metre-plus wall covered with green PVC sheet and with a visible drainage pipe on top plus vigilant workers looks more like an Army bunker than a factory. But no matter how it looks, there are always people who feel insecure.

"The government says they can protect us, but we see some signs it [water] is coming," said Songwut Chanapai, human resources manager at Honda Motors.

By the evening, I received a call from Adisak. He nervously told me the water is gushing through the drainage system at his residence and he wants to know where it's all coming from.

-- The Nation 2011-11-11