Bangkok Warned Of Flood Threat As Heavy Rain Predicted

[Tatsujin]

I have been thinking hard about buying a 4x4 (see photo left). Actually I have been obsessing about it for awhile.

I may buy a boat instead.

I'd go with the boat . . . or if you get the 4x4, don't forget the snorkel add-on and the outboard motor attachment that fits on the rear tailgate.

[Tatsujin]

"We have to identify the riskiest spots and try to minimise that risk," Plodprasob said.

Best avoid the spots where this guy's been with his 2 cents, I say.

Or simply move everyone where the Politicians and Government Ministers all live . . . those areas won't be flooding funnily enough . . .

[scotbeve]

Very little done except to line their own pockets.

After 1 year, and the amount of money 'spent' I would have expected most of the immediate works could already have been completed.

Just goes to prove once again that the 'higher ups' don't give a crap about the 'lower downs'.

Any links, pictures, documents to back up these presumptions?

Are you serious? Do you have any links, pictures, documents to confirm that they haven't done as I stated? Come on! If you've been in Thailand very long you'll know that's the way the country works, it's an unwritten fact lol

I would have thought that the very fact that Sukhotai and Ayudhya are flooded and now 50 districts in BKK alone are being put on alert is enough to substantiate the assumption that not a lot constructive has actually been done in the past year to warrant the amount of money that has been 'spent'. The remainder of the statement will be borne out in the months to come when investigations are made into corruption and graft amongst various Government bodies and private firms.

Tat,

A bit of tongue and cheek going the other way is all... Yes, been here long enough - was in a horrendous flood at Klongtan, Phrakanong in 83'(correct me if I'm wrong on the year...). And went to look up other floods in the past way back then. Seems not a heck of a lot has been done since the last comparable flood in the 40's. Not just this government folks....

[Thai at Heart]

Very little done except to line their own pockets.

After 1 year, and the amount of money 'spent' I would have expected most of the immediate works could already have been completed.

Just goes to prove once again that the 'higher ups' don't give a crap about the 'lower downs'.

Any links, pictures, documents to back up these presumptions?

Are you serious? Do you have any links, pictures, documents to confirm that they haven't done as I stated? Come on! If you've been in Thailand very long you'll know that's the way the country works, it's an unwritten fact lol

I would have thought that the very fact that Sukhotai and Ayudhya are flooded and now 50 districts in BKK alone are being put on alert is enough to substantiate the assumption that not a lot constructive has actually been done in the past year to warrant the amount of money that has been 'spent'. The remainder of the statement will be borne out in the months to come when investigations are made into corruption and graft amongst various Government bodies and private firms.

Tat,

A bit of tongue and cheek going the other way is all... Yes, been here long enough - was in a horrendous flood at Klongtan, Phrakanong in 83'(correct me if I'm wrong on the year...). And went to look up other floods in the past way back then. Seems not a heck of a lot has been done since the last comparable flood in the 40's. Not just this government folks....

For sure, it isn't only this bunch, but it would be nice to see where even 100mn of the 120bn went. I mean, 100mn for a wall, should build quite a serious wall I presume? 10 walls makes 1bn. Where did the other 119 bn go? Please don't tell me dredging the canals? That involves an excavator on top of a barge. How much can that be? 20k per day?50 days, 1mn. 100 excavators working 50 days permanently, 100 mn. Did they at any point have 100 excavators working full time?

[Tatsujin]

Very little done except to line their own pockets.

After 1 year, and the amount of money 'spent' I would have expected most of the immediate works could already have been completed.

Just goes to prove once again that the 'higher ups' don't give a crap about the 'lower downs'.

Any links, pictures, documents to back up these presumptions?

Are you serious? Do you have any links, pictures, documents to confirm that they haven't done as I stated? Come on! If you've been in Thailand very long you'll know that's the way the country works, it's an unwritten fact lol

I would have thought that the very fact that Sukhotai and Ayudhya are flooded and now 50 districts in BKK alone are being put on alert is enough to substantiate the assumption that not a lot constructive has actually been done in the past year to warrant the amount of money that has been 'spent'. The remainder of the statement will be borne out in the months to come when investigations are made into corruption and graft amongst various Government bodies and private firms.

Tat,

A bit of tongue and cheek going the other way is all... Yes, been here long enough - was in a horrendous flood at Klongtan, Phrakanong in 83'(correct me if I'm wrong on the year...). And went to look up other floods in the past way back then. Seems not a heck of a lot has been done since the last comparable flood in the 40's. Not just this government folks....

Sorry . . . didn't come across as tongue in cheek lol

And yes, nothing much has changed.

[Tatsujin]

For sure, it isn't only this bunch, but it would be nice to see where even 100mn of the 120bn went. I mean, 100mn for a wall, should build quite a serious wall I presume? 10 walls makes 1bn. Where did the other 119 bn go? Please don't tell me dredging the canals? That involves an excavator on top of a barge. How much can that be? 20k per day?50 days, 1mn. 100 excavators working 50 days permanently, 100 mn. Did they at any point have 100 excavators working full time?

100mn for a wall x 10 = 1bn + 119bn to award the contract to their friends in the first place (split evenly amongst all the players cos after all, everyone's here to be fair).

(Sorry . . . my cynical (realistic?) nature is kicking into overdrive recently )

Edited September 13, 2012 by Tatsujin

[rubl]

For sure, it isn't only this bunch, but it would be nice to see where even 100mn of the 120bn went. I mean, 100mn for a wall, should build quite a serious wall I presume? 10 walls makes 1bn. Where did the other 119 bn go? Please don't tell me dredging the canals? That involves an excavator on top of a barge. How much can that be? 20k per day?50 days, 1mn. 100 excavators working 50 days permanently, 100 mn. Did they at any point have 100 excavators working full time?

100mn for a wall x 10 = 1bn + 119bn to award the contract to their friends in the first place (split evenly amongst all the players cos after all, everyone's here to be fair).

(Sorry . . . my cynical (realistic?) nature is kicking into overdrive recently )

Don't worry, perfectly excusable. Many reactions get started by mixing with water

[Thai at Heart]

For sure, it isn't only this bunch, but it would be nice to see where even 100mn of the 120bn went. I mean, 100mn for a wall, should build quite a serious wall I presume? 10 walls makes 1bn. Where did the other 119 bn go? Please don't tell me dredging the canals? That involves an excavator on top of a barge. How much can that be? 20k per day?50 days, 1mn. 100 excavators working 50 days permanently, 100 mn. Did they at any point have 100 excavators working full time?

100mn for a wall x 10 = 1bn + 119bn to award the contract to their friends in the first place (split evenly amongst all the players cos after all, everyone's here to be fair).

(Sorry . . . my cynical (realistic?) nature is kicking into overdrive recently )

It would be interesting to get a cost on raising every wall around the Chaopraya and every drainage canal through the whole of Bangkok by 1m? 4 bn USD? That buys a lot of concrete, rebar and labour surely.

[dcutman]

What ever happen to the website, that was for the public to see what was going on with the flood prevention efforts. This website should have been out over a month ago.

http://www.thaivisa....um/topic/583980

Edited September 13, 2012 by dcutman

[scotbeve]

Thai at Heart,

You said: >>> For sure, it isn't only this bunch, but it would be nice to see where even 100mn of the 120bn went. I mean, 100mn for a wall, should build quite a serious wall I presume? 10 walls makes 1bn. Where did the other 119 bn go? Please don't tell me dredging the canals? That involves an excavator on top of a barge. How much can that be? 20k per day?50 days, 1mn. 100 excavators working 50 days permanently, 100 mn. Did they at any point have 100 excavators working full time?<<<<

Ummmm... don't forget all the dump trucks as well add that into the equation. Just saying.....

[rubl]

What ever happen to the website, that was for the public to see what was going on with the flood prevention efforts. This website should have been out over a month ago.

http://www.thaivisa....um/topic/583980

The link to a TV page gives a 404. Please check

[Scott]

What districts in BKK are at risk of flooding? Any lists in English available?

[Tatsujin]

What districts in BKK are at risk of flooding? Any lists in English available?

Just assume ALL of them . . . simple

[rubl]

What districts in BKK are at risk of flooding? Any lists in English available?

For now we only have

"People in 27 communities, involving more than 1,200 households in 13 districts, not protected by floodwalls along the Chao Phraya River should be ready to remove their belongings to higher places"

For the rest BMA officials are on full alert the coming days

[h90]

I have been thinking hard about buying a 4x4 (see photo left). Actually I have been obsessing about it for awhile.

I may buy a boat instead.

there are these cars that can swim...I know only the German Kuebelwagen, but there might be new models specially for Thailand?

[Thai at Heart]

I have been thinking hard about buying a 4x4 (see photo left). Actually I have been obsessing about it for awhile.

I may buy a boat instead.

there are these cars that can swim...I know only the German Kuebelwagen, but there might be new models specially for Thailand?

Fitted with pestle and mortar?

[MaxLee]

This is just the beginning of mother nature's floody uproar towards Thailand. October is gonna be interesting again, because that's the peak of the rainy season… so brace yourselves into another bunch of Thai government white lies coming ahead.

Thing is, it's always been the same, Yingluck and co. were just sugar coating things into those so called Mega projects, that only "sound like" that things are going to change, but no matter the project's name, the tactic has been the same as usual, and will always be: "Accumulate and BLOCK the water up in significant provinces like Ayutthaya, Sukothai, etc... until the limits are broken, and let the mess begin to get things out of control again… in other words Bangkok doesn't need flood barriers… the other provinces that the aristrocratic and arrogant high status Bangkok people including the politicians are looking down on, serve as an actual flood barrier at the cost of protecting Bangkok. But that, ladies and gentlemen won't work anymore in the long run…

[dcutman]

What ever happen to the website, that was for the public to see what was going on with the flood prevention efforts. This website should have been out over a month ago.

http://www.thaivisa....um/topic/583980

The link to a TV page gives a 404. Please check

Ok I will just put article up here then. This story was from early part of July.

BANGKOK: -- The government will set up a Website in three to four weeks so people can follow updates on flood prevention moves, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said at a Pheu Thai MPs' seminar yesterday.

Yingluck attended a party seminar in Pattaya yesterday and gave a talk on future work by her government.

She began by defending her administration for not being ready to handle last year's flood, saying it only came to power shortly before the disaster. The PM said there was no integrated command centre for a dozen agencies handling various parts of the official response. Machines and infrastructure were also not ready to cope with a flood of such magnitude.

She said 2,800 new dykes would be completed by the end of August to mitigate the effects of a possible flood this year, and the new Website would enable the public to keep up with what was going on.

The premier said the Website would contain technical details. And more integrated preventive flood measures would be introduced soon.

Edited September 13, 2012 by dcutman

[Mosha]

If we were able to tap for rubber, I'd send them some to plug the leaks in the defences.

[rubl]

Ok I will just put article up here then. This story was from early part of July.

BANGKOK: -- The government will set up a Website in three to four weeks so people can follow updates on flood prevention moves, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said at a Pheu Thai MPs' seminar yesterday.

Yingluck attended a party seminar in Pattaya yesterday and gave a talk on future work by her government.

She began by defending her administration for not being ready to handle last year's flood, saying it only came to power shortly before the disaster. The PM said there was no integrated command centre for a dozen agencies handling various parts of the official response. Machines and infrastructure were also not ready to cope with a flood of such magnitude.

She said 2,800 new dykes would be completed by the end of August to mitigate the effects of a possible flood this year, and the new Website would enable the public to keep up with what was going on.

The premier said the Website would contain technical details. And more integrated preventive flood measures would be introduced soon.

Maybe this from the Office of the National Water and Flood Management Policy. Mind you, looks like still in progress

http://www.waterfort...d=780&pcode=PRE

[dcutman]

Ok I will just put article up here then. This story was from early part of July.

BANGKOK: -- The government will set up a Website in three to four weeks so people can follow updates on flood prevention moves, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said at a Pheu Thai MPs' seminar yesterday.

Yingluck attended a party seminar in Pattaya yesterday and gave a talk on future work by her government.

She began by defending her administration for not being ready to handle last year's flood, saying it only came to power shortly before the disaster. The PM said there was no integrated command centre for a dozen agencies handling various parts of the official response. Machines and infrastructure were also not ready to cope with a flood of such magnitude.

She said 2,800 new dykes would be completed by the end of August to mitigate the effects of a possible flood this year, and the new Website would enable the public to keep up with what was going on.

The premier said the Website would contain technical details. And more integrated preventive flood measures would be introduced soon.

Maybe this from the Office of the National Water and Flood Management Policy. Mind you, looks like still in progress

http://www.waterfort...d=780&pcode=PRE

Oh well, I really didnt expect to see a govt website that would expose themselves to transparency, even though they preach they will daily.

But thanks for the link.

[Bagwan]

You really need to be able to work out the difference between "defending the government" and "defending the truth". I'm just pointing a common "wilful" misunderstanding of what the PM actually said. If you wish to defend a lie, and you obviously do, I can see why throw around statements like these:

"the budgets for flooding have been stolen by their cronies without making good defenses against the water", "If they only put as much effort in flood defense as getting their beloved leader back then nobody would ever flood again in this country."

Do you really believe the above statements? Why, what actual facts do you have to share that will back those statements up? Or is it just because everybody say so, so it must be true?

I can back my statement up and prove that it is true, Can you?

In this matter you appear to be a lone voice in the wilderness and everybody else is acting like a member of a lynch mob. I have no time for the vacuous woman or her kin, but I think that you are correct in your assertions. I fear that you are pi$$ing into the wind since people are making the assumption that you are defending the ersatz PM rather than accurately restating what she actually said. I admire your tenacity but fear that you will have as much success in halting the negative posting as the authorities have of controlling the waters.

I admit to being guilty as the rest in my condemnation of Yingluck (if guilt in the appropriate word) but it is undeniable that this government's lack of proactive action is deplorable. In years gone by the good folks of Newcastle marched on London (The Jarrow March) and many along the way joined in their protest. If only the Thais could find the balls to follow their fine example.

Ity seems to me that the only option for Thaksin's Yingluck's Government is to contact the Israelis and ask if they have a latter day Moses that they can borrow.

[Buchholz]

it would be nice to see where even 100mn of the 120bn went. I mean, 100mn for a wall, should build quite a serious wall I presume? 10 walls makes 1bn. Where did the other 119 bn go? Please don't tell me dredging the canals? That involves an excavator on top of a barge. How much can that be? 20k per day?50 days, 1mn. 100 excavators working 50 days permanently, 100 mn. Did they at any point have 100 excavators working full time?

and if they're struggling to show where the 120 Billion Baht went, how about the other pallet of money expended that is three times that amount???

Interesting that foretold of issues in Ayutthaya

The Anti-Corruption Network is calling on the government to look into the water-management projects in Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya, after it received information about certain officials benefiting from them.

Pramon Sutivong, the network's Chairman, said the case had been passed on to the National Anti-Corruption Commission for further investigation.

He added that the government should provide clear information on how the Bt120 billion earmarked for water management and the Bt370 billion allocated for water-prevention measures is being spent.

http://www.thaivisa....flood-projects/

[Unkomoncents]

Didn't they JUST say that all of the BHT120 billion of appropriated flood prevention funds has been spent?! On what?! Oh poor Thailand. It's so sad to see a country full of people who live at the whim of a government exhibiting a staggering magnitude of brazen corruption and pathological incompetence.

Edited September 13, 2012 by Unkomoncents

[rbrooks]

Give the government some slack compared to America's plight with Hurricanes? There is a huge difference. Thailand constantly wastes money and tries to actually convince their people that mother nature will stop flooding their land while in America we use technology to actually predict the path and intensity of a Hurricane and allow plenty of time for residents to seek safety. After the disaster we have an organization called FEMA that actually helps with money grants up to $36K per household to alleviate the financial losses of residents with no insurance or assets to rebuild or relocate. Thailand gives out peanut money and empty promises to affected residents. No government or country is perfect but Thailand has a bad habit of scamming their own people into believing they have all disasters, man-made and natural under control.

[bigbamboo]

A lot of off-topic posts and replies have been deleted.

Stick to the topic please. Some of us would like to know when we will be up to our behinds in water and for how long.

It's the same posters making the same political arguments. Their positions will not change. Drop it or take it elsewhere.

This one is about flooding--not blaming.

If you want to know what's really happening with the flooding then surely it's best to ask someone in the know like Science Minister Professor Plod or even PM Khun Yingluck herself.

Sorry, this isn't a joking matter I know.

As for the 4 billion dollars flood prevention money that sems to have 'seeped' away I guess we'll never know where it went unless there are strange sightings of riverbanks being shored up by row upon row of new Mercedes and Porsches.

Edited September 13, 2012 by bigbamboo

[MikeOboe57]

[...] In years gone by the good folks of Newcastle marched on London (The Jarrow March) and many along the way joined in their protest. If only the Thais could find the balls to follow their fine example. [...]

They did in 2010 and got this government as a reward. Not very encouraging.

edit: typo

Edited September 13, 2012 by MikeOboe57

[annabel]

For sure, it isn't only this bunch, but it would be nice to see where even 100mn of the 120bn went. I mean, 100mn for a wall, should build quite a serious wall I presume? 10 walls makes 1bn. Where did the other 119 bn go? Please don't tell me dredging the canals? That involves an excavator on top of a barge. How much can that be? 20k per day?50 days, 1mn. 100 excavators working 50 days permanently, 100 mn. Did they at any point have 100 excavators working full time?

100mn for a wall x 10 = 1bn + 119bn to award the contract to their friends in the first place (split evenly amongst all the players cos after all, everyone's here to be fair).

(Sorry . . . my cynical (realistic?) nature is kicking into overdrive recently )

It would be interesting to get a cost on raising every wall around the Chaopraya and every drainage canal through the whole of Bangkok by 1m? 4 bn USD? That buys a lot of concrete, rebar and labour surely.

I don't think there is any sort of accountability /account auditing for the governent departments in Thailand ...?? Are there ...? Does anybody question how budgeted amounts are distributed and spend...?? Is there any kind of balance sheet due / required to be sumitted to any departments / committees...?? Couldn't the famous Ombudsmen be in charge of this ...??/

[philw]

Oh dear, it's the rainy season in the tropics and there is going to be knee deep water in parts of Bangkok for a few days, as there has been almost every year since anyone can remember.

Just as there is in Taiwan, Korea, Phils, Japan ( when they are not glowing in the dark ), Vietnam, Burma, 1/2 of China and god knows where else.

oh dear, might rain soon, must have a quick panic.............

[rubl]

Oh dear, it's the rainy season in the tropics and there is going to be knee deep water in parts of Bangkok for a few days, as there has been almost every year since anyone can remember.

Just as there is in Taiwan, Korea, Phils, Japan ( when they are not glowing in the dark ), Vietnam, Burma, 1/2 of China and god knows where else.

oh dear, might rain soon, must have a quick panic.............

All fine, up there in Chiang Mai, I hope