12 Die As Floods Wreak Havoc

[george]

12 die as floods wreak havoc

23 provinces hit; schools closed as rivers overflow

Flooding in Phitsanulok worsened yesterday, with 70 villages inundated in Bang Rakam district and 23 schools closed.

The Disaster Prevention Mitigation Department (DPMD) said that 23 provinces - a third of the country - have been affected by the latest floods. Some 12 people have been killed and 477,391 others affected.

Floodwater from Sukhothai has flowed into the Yom River, but it failed to drain quickly. The Nan River was reported to be 9.36 metres deep and the flooded area extended to 70 villages.

DPMD director-general Anucha Mokawet said the floods had affected 3,569 villages in 23 provinces, with 887,631 rai of farmland damaged. Two people were killed in Lampang, three in Sukhothai, five in Phitsanulok, and one each in Phetchabun and Chaiyaphum.

Nine provinces were flooded yesterday morning after the main rivers passing through each flowed over their banks. They were Lampang, Tak, Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, Phichit, Nakhon Sawan, Angthong, Ayutthaya and Chaiyaphum, Anucha said.

Meanwhile, Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin approved a Bt58-million budget to buy 60 diesel water pumps and seven giant electronic water pumps this week to tackle the problem. He also put officials on watch at 30 flood-prone spots.

Flood barriers had been set up on a 57-kilometre stretch along Chao Phya River, Apirak said.

Although the tropical depression has been downgraded to a low-pressure cell now over Burma, the Meteorological Department said the North, West and upper South would continue to have heavy rain.

Residents in lowland areas in Tak, Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet, Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani, Kanchanaburi, Suphan Buri, Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Ranong and Phang Nga were warned of flash floods.

People living in riverside areas in the lower North, Central and eastern regions were also told to brace for flooding.

The Public Health Ministry said there had been 100,000 cases of conjunctivitis over the past nine months, with 29,000 cases last month alone.

A southbound train was derailed yesterday morning after heavy rain eroded the track. No injuries were reported but train operations in the southernmost provinces were paralysed before resuming last night.

--The Nation 2006-09-27

[nasa]

The URL bulk email sent to this thread is not coded correctly. That's the reason ther is no response yet.

[john b good]

The URL bulk email sent to this thread is not coded correctly. That's the reason ther is no response yet.

The first thing I do when I am going to use my computer is to put on my spectacles.

It was glaringly obvious that the h was missing in front of 'ttp' so it was no big deal to paste it across, add the 'h' and hey presto up it comes.

Having got that off my chest, "I ask is there any end to the tragedies that the folk in Thailand have to endure"

They get a pretty poor roll of the dice. My sympathy to them all.

[ColPyat]

They get a pretty poor roll of the dice. My sympathy to them all.

The flooding has very little to do with roll of the dice.

Decades of deforestation combined with piss poor agricultural management do that when natural events such as el nina come.

Given global warming (also man made, unless you believe bush...) the situation will only worsen in the coming decades.

[LoveThai]

These sort of disaster can be prevented if there is a system to check on it. I feel sorry for the thais that their govt cannot do much on that. If buying a few pumps can solve the situtaion in the long term, then i guess it will nothappen again but i strongly doubt so.

They need to plan the whole thing seriously and systematically in order to deal with it properly

Sorry i f i sound that i look down on the government but i hate to see lost of life due to the i

incompetences of the government.

They are veryfast in removing taksin but they are not that fast in handling such disaster problem.

[DragonLad]

These sort of disaster can be prevented if there is a system to check on it. I feel sorry for the thais that their govt cannot do much on that. If buying a few pumps can solve the situtaion in the long term, then i guess it will nothappen again but i strongly doubt so.

They need to plan the whole thing seriously and systematically in order to deal with it properly

Sorry i f i sound that i look down on the government but i hate to see lost of life due to the i

incompetences of the government.

They are veryfast in removing taksin but they are not that fast in handling such disaster problem.

This is easy to say, espacially when you are not in the government. It is hard to get into an area when it is flooded. They were fast in removing taksin because he was not even in thailand, I love when people alway's blame the government when it comes to mother nature

Are you going to blame the government if the planet suddenly decided to blow up??

I live in the States and I have heard this before because of hurricane katrina and how people could not get out!!! They had warning that a Hurricane was coming and they were relying on the government??? The Mayor of New Orleans told them to go to a sports stadium to weather the storm and then they get upset they had no food!!!

I would have walked out of New Orleans if I didn't have a car. I would have gone to a neighbor state. I'm sure the Thai people in the area of the flooding had no chance to get out, That is the reason for the deaths.

The Mayor of New Orleans alsosaid why they have not built on the area of the World Trade Center in New York after Five Years, I say this that was a terrorist incident and had no warning given to the people that day. Hurricane Katrina happend after the First most destructive Hurricane, Hurricane Camille. That was almost 40 years ago, They had plenty of time to have some sort of emergency plan in case another Hurricane came again??

Edited September 26, 2006 by DragonLad

[LoveThai]

These sort of disaster can be prevented if there is a system to check on it. I feel sorry for the thais that their govt cannot do much on that. If buying a few pumps can solve the situtaion in the long term, then i guess it will nothappen again but i strongly doubt so.

They need to plan the whole thing seriously and systematically in order to deal with it properly

Sorry i f i sound that i look down on the government but i hate to see lost of life due to the i

incompetences of the government.

They are veryfast in removing taksin but they are not that fast in handling such disaster problem.

This is easy to say, espacially when you are not in the government. It is hard to get into an area when it is flooded. They were fast in removing taksin because he was not even in thailand, I love when people alway's blame the government when it comes to mother nature

Are you going to blame the government if the planet suddenly decided to blow up??

I live in the States and I have heard this before because of hurricane katrina and how people could not get out!!! They had warning that a Hurricane was coming and they were relying on the government??? The Mayor of New Orleans told them to go to a sports stadium to weather the storm and then they get upset they had no food!!!

I would have walked out of New Orleans if I didn't have a car. I would have gone to a neighbor state. I'm sure the Thai people in the area of the flooding had no chance to get out, That is the reason for the deaths.

The Mayor of New Orleans alsosaid why they have not built on the area of the World Trade Center in New York after Five Years, I say this that was a terrorist incident and had no warning given to the people that day. Hurricane Katrina happend after the First most destructive Hurricane, Hurricane Camille. That was almost 40 years ago, They had plenty of time to have some sort of emergency plan in case another Hurricane came again??

IF the government is prepared for such disaster, it will be very much of a control. The thai people will very much appreciate the gesture and i believe they will follow whatever it takes to aviod such disaster.

It is the job of the govt to place infrastructure of disaster prevention so that the least damage is being inflicted.

Your orlean hurricane story seems to tell me that the governor of that state is also useless and the USA govt doesn't has the clue to know what to do, i mean what do you expect if you have bush around.

Edited September 26, 2006 by LoveThai

[brahmburgers]

For thousands of years people have been living in these areas, and for just as long, heavy rains pour down every year. Yes the flooding is a major misfortune for many, but it's often it's avoidable. I look around my town of Chiang Rai and they're busy building in flood plains and on mud slopes. culverts are few, major drainage systems are often level rather than sloped if they're there at all. Municiple planning, foresight and infrastructure is certainly not things that Thais are well endowed with.

[markokang]

The URL bulk email sent to this thread is not coded correctly. That's the reason ther is no response yet.

The first thing I do when I am going to use my computer is to put on my spectacles.

It was glaringly obvious that the h was missing in front of 'ttp' so it was no big deal to paste it across, add the 'h' and hey presto up it comes.

Having got that off my chest, "I ask is there any end to the tragedies that the folk in Thailand have to endure"

They get a pretty poor roll of the dice. My sympathy to them all.

I think poor 'ol NASA was just trying to alert staff (as I tried to do but couldn't find a contact link,... lost my glasses) to correct the problem so those users who do not have spectacles or are not computer literate (YES, amazingly there are still people who are not old enough to be brought up using HTML and know all about coding etc) can read this article.

I think when you woke up this morning you should have donned your "chill-out" shirt and not your spectacles or perhaps gone back to bed for some much needed sleep:)

Thank you for trying to help out NASA:)

[aonangkrabi]

They get a pretty poor roll of the dice. My sympathy to them all.

The flooding has very little to do with roll of the dice.

Decades of deforestation combined with piss poor agricultural management do that when natural events such as el nina come.

Given global warming (also man made, unless you believe bush...) the situation will only worsen in the coming decades.

LA NINA has nothing to do with it as LA NINA has disappeared already. It is being replaced by EL NINO that usually causes warmer and drier conditions than average. Thailand better prepare for the coming drought.

[fruittbatt]

These sort of disaster can be prevented if there is a system to check on it. I feel sorry for the thais that their govt cannot do much on that. If buying a few pumps can solve the situtaion in the long term, then i guess it will nothappen again but i strongly doubt so.

They need to plan the whole thing seriously and systematically in order to deal with it properly

Sorry i f i sound that i look down on the government but i hate to see lost of life due to the i

incompetences of the government.

They are veryfast in removing taksin but they are not that fast in handling such disaster problem.

You possibly don't realise that the problems of flooding are directly related to previous government policy. Where factory owners with links to politicians have been allowed to raise their land, the water run-off directly affects those who live nearby. Where logging concessions have been granted to friends of the previous government, erosion and flooding occur every time it rains. Where environmental activists are killed because they oppose government policy on reforestation or logging, people are frightened to act.

Although it is too late for those who are already dead, the removal of Thaksin is a first step to addressing the many forms of corruption - which result in such tragedy. It's rather harsh to expect the new regime to have all the answers at once. If you had been in Chiang Mai during last year's floods I think you would have been very impressed with the role of the army in preparing for the deluge and cleaning up after the river burst its banks.

[Canadianvisitor]

"I ask is there any end to the tragedies that the folk in Thailand have to endure"

They get a pretty poor roll of the dice. My sympathy to them all.

The natives in the country do not realise the consequences of burning the bush.

I stayed in the North for quite some time and witnessed the start of forest fires.

As an environmental scientist I do know it is a fact that coupled with global warming, deforestation, the new dams in China, the weather in the area, flooding will not stop, ever.

The Thai people are not well informed of the consequences of acceleration of water flow due to little or no perculation into the ground.

Because the forest is no longer there the is no resistance to water flow whatsoever,

no ground plants to absorb it,

no vegetation to slow it down when hitting the earth,

the list goes on.

The rain ends up in the river immediately.

The ground will become progressively drier and harder, the flooding will get worse.

There is really no reliable method to predict future weather patterns as we just don't know.

The polar ice caps are melting a lot faster than anyone ever expected.

With the emerging economies of the region the problem is compounding, as countries such as Canada get right wing leadership the state of the planet tekes a backseat to economic growth and this is the consequence.

The education and reinforcement of the losses incurred by the Hill tribes in reducing the burns is very important.

My heart is with the wonderful people of Pitsanulok, all or any of those Thai people affected and I am sad.

Edited September 27, 2006 by Canadianvisitor

[ColPyat]

LA NINA has nothing to do with it as LA NINA has disappeared already. It is being replaced by EL NINO that usually causes warmer and drier conditions than average. Thailand better prepare for the coming drought.

I am not a meteorologist, but the news on which i have based this years planting was that el nina this year will cause a far stronger rainseason that will last longer and cause extensive flooding. Which happens right now.

You are definately right that that el nino will cause draught. So far though we still have stong rains that do cause the flooding.

It would have been nice if the government would have advised the farmers in flood prone land that this years rainseason will cause extensive flooding, and that therefore farmers could have saved themselves the investment for their crop. At least then the farmers in the lower lands would not have been killed by their debts for fertiliser, pestizides and hired labour.

We have planted far later this year than usual, in order to avoid our crops being drowned by the rains. So far the flood damage is minimal.

[LoveDaBlues]

These sort of disaster can be prevented if there is a system to check on it. I feel sorry for the thais that their govt cannot do much on that. If buying a few pumps can solve the situtaion in the long term, then i guess it will nothappen again but i strongly doubt so.

They need to plan the whole thing seriously and systematically in order to deal with it properly

Sorry i f i sound that i look down on the government but i hate to see lost of life due to the i

incompetences of the government.

They are veryfast in removing taksin but they are not that fast in handling such disaster problem.

This is easy to say, espacially when you are not in the government. It is hard to get into an area when it is flooded. They were fast in removing taksin because he was not even in thailand, I love when people alway's blame the government when it comes to mother nature

Are you going to blame the government if the planet suddenly decided to blow up??

I live in the States and I have heard this before because of hurricane katrina and how people could not get out!!! They had warning that a Hurricane was coming and they were relying on the government??? The Mayor of New Orleans told them to go to a sports stadium to weather the storm and then they get upset they had no food!!!

I would have walked out of New Orleans if I didn't have a car. I would have gone to a neighbor state. I'm sure the Thai people in the area of the flooding had no chance to get out, That is the reason for the deaths.

The Mayor of New Orleans alsosaid why they have not built on the area of the World Trade Center in New York after Five Years, I say this that was a terrorist incident and had no warning given to the people that day. Hurricane Katrina happend after the First most destructive Hurricane, Hurricane Camille. That was almost 40 years ago, They had plenty of time to have some sort of emergency plan in case another Hurricane came again??

I went thru hurricane Betsy, Camille, and also Katrina. In fact, the eye of Camille passed directly over my house. You don't have a clue as to what you're talking about. Walk to another state? Which one do you suggest? Perhaps Mississippi where my family lost 3 houses, 6 cars, and 2 other houses badly damaged? How do people in wheelchairs, hospital beds, etc. 'walk out' of N.O. in the middle of the summer with unbearable heat and humidity? There are A LOT of poor people living in N.O. with no transport other than public. The infrastructure IS NOT set up for a massive evacuation. The poor people of N.O. didn't stand a chance. Get a clue. The government blew this one big time.

Guess who came thru for the people in the Gulf States immediately after the hurricane? Private individuals and others NOT connected to the government. I was served lunch by 3 guys who loaded up their travel-trailer with food in Florida and came to Mississippi and fed people for free. Also a group from California about 20 strong who fed many people for weeks. Church groups came from all over to distribute food, cut trees with chain saws, etc.. New Orleans still looks like a disaster area; as does a lot of South Mississippi. Where is the government? We can destroy Baghdad and rebuild it.......

[ColPyat]

The education and reinforcement of the losses incurred by the Hill tribes in reducing the burns is very important.

Other than this point i do agree with your post.

It is always very convenient to blame the hilltribes for deforestation. Fact though is that the hilltribes used slash and burn cultivation for a very long time. This has had very little impact on the forest, is even not too bad as it helps rejuvenating the forest.

The real culprit are the governments, their corruption that allowed influental people (mostly in, or connected to those governments) to cut down vast forest lands.

Our farm is in the hills of Phisanulok. There in that area the forest is still mostly intact. The forest is patrolled by forst department officials and culprits are arrested. Well, apart from the influental people who still cut down forest in order to plant rubber or fruit plantations. So, for example, a relative of a highly influental polititian who has recently switched sides from the last government to the opposition has a large orange orchard in formerly jungle land.

But yes, blame the "hilltribes", they are the weakest link anyhow, and you avoid pissing off the big boys, and won't question a status quo in which the powerful make vast profits.

Edited September 27, 2006 by ColPyat

[Diablo Bob]

The education and reinforcement of the losses incurred by the Hill tribes in reducing the burns is very important.

Other than this point i do agree with your post.

It is always very convenient to blame the hilltribes for deforestation. Fact though is that the hilltribes used slash and burn cultivation for a very long time. This has had very little impact on the forest, is even not too bad as it helps rejuvenating the forest.

The real culprit are the governments, their corruption that allowed influental people (mostly in, or connected to those governments) to cut down vast forest lands.

Our farm is in the hills of Phisanulok. There in that area the forest is still mostly intact. The forest is patrolled by forst department officials and culprits are arrested. Well, apart from the influental people who still cut down forest in order to plant rubber or fruit plantations. So, for example, a relative of a highly influental polititian who has recently switched sides from the last government to the opposition has a large orange orchard in formerly jungle land.

But yes, blame the "hilltribes", they are the weakest link anyhow, and you avoid pissing off the big boys, and won't question a status quo in which the powerful make vast profits.

ColPyat and I can not aggree on anything.........until now!

He is right on the money here. When I was in college it was always stated that upstream development (This includes logging) was the single largest factor in flooding. No matter how well you engineer anything, the end result will be an end to sheet flow of water to a channelized flow which causes flooding.

[manjara]

...

Municiple planning, foresight and infrastructure is certainly not things that Thais are well endowed with.

Any kind of planning, foresight or investment now for a future need are not things that Thais are well endowed with.

I work in the software industry and my experience of working in Thailand has made me realise why India is a centre for outsourcing of IT!

There are a million examples of waste, lack of controls, cutting corners etc. Anything that costs extra money or time just won't get done.

[ColPyat]

No matter how well you engineer anything,

And the later engeneering stage of dams etc. allows the same people, companies and institutions to make vast profits again.

Especially in countries such as Thailand because of a lack of a system of checks and balances it is easy for developers to neglect environmental impact studies for their projects, so those more often than not harm the environment even more. It is a vicious circle in which for the short term profit of a few whole societies have to carry the burden.

[Scott]

I always enjoy putting the blame for things like floods on governments. So, according to the Bible (and other traditional accounts), who was responsible for that BIG FLOOD--you know, the Noah one. Maybe there was a Thasin in an earlier incarnation!

Yes, gov't policies do affect these things, but they aren't responsible for them.

My thoughts are with the many affected people.

Any word on if/when it will hit Bangkok?

[skorchio]

Just in case anyone thought that thats the end of it, check out

www.typhoon2000.com

there's another 'phoon in Phillipines, bearing 280 degrees, and another 'phoon brewing in Pacific.

[ColPyat]

I always enjoy putting the blame for things like floods on governments. So, according to the Bible (and other traditional accounts), who was responsible for that BIG FLOOD--you know, the Noah one. Maybe there was a Thasin in an earlier incarnation!

Yes, gov't policies do affect these things, but they aren't responsible for them.

My thoughts are with the many affected people.

Any word on if/when it will hit Bangkok?

Seems that i am debating with a creationist here...

You may believe that floods are caused by god or godlike entities of other believe systems, but scientific evidence is overwhelming that here in Thailand the present floods are to a large part caused by deforestation. There is also overwhelming evidence that not god, but man is responsible for this deforestation.

An environmental biologist i met once called Thailand a hopeless environmental desaster zone.

Furthermore, the economic effect on the farmers hit by the floods are increased by the failure of the governments to prepare farmers for the coming floods. If a simpleton like me knew since beginning of the year that we will get heavy rains that cause flooding, and was therefore able to adapt our planting season accordingly, the government with all their available data must have known far more than me. But who cares about the farmers...

Even though a few still believe that global warming might be a natural phenomena, there is overwhelming evidence that global warming is a man made desaster. Our economies are driven by mineral fuels and not by god. The emissions of those mineral fuels cause global warming.

Global warming will, by all accounts, cause more of these unusual weather phenomena, such as increased rain and flooding in some parts of the world, more hurricanes in others, while again other parts will turn into deserts.

But yes, maybe you are right, and all this is a masterplan by god, or the aliens...

[VBF]

12 die as floods wreak havoc

23 provinces hit; schools closed as rivers overflow

Flooding in Phitsanulok worsened yesterday, with 70 villages inundated in Bang Rakam district and 23 schools closed.

The Disaster Prevention Mitigation Department (DPMD) said that 23 provinces - a third of the country - have been affected by the latest floods. Some 12 people have been killed and 477,391 others affected.

Floodwater from Sukhothai has flowed into the Yom River, but it failed to drain quickly. The Nan River was reported to be 9.36 metres deep and the flooded area extended to 70 villages.

DPMD director-general Anucha Mokawet said the floods had affected 3,569 villages in 23 provinces, with 887,631 rai of farmland damaged. Two people were killed in Lampang, three in Sukhothai, five in Phitsanulok, and one each in Phetchabun and Chaiyaphum.

Nine provinces were flooded yesterday morning after the main rivers passing through each flowed over their banks. They were Lampang, Tak, Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, Phichit, Nakhon Sawan, Angthong, Ayutthaya and Chaiyaphum, Anucha said.

Meanwhile, Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin approved a Bt58-million budget to buy 60 diesel water pumps and seven giant electronic water pumps this week to tackle the problem. He also put officials on watch at 30 flood-prone spots.

Flood barriers had been set up on a 57-kilometre stretch along Chao Phya River, Apirak said.

Although the tropical depression has been downgraded to a low-pressure cell now over Burma, the Meteorological Department said the North, West and upper South would continue to have heavy rain.

Residents in lowland areas in Tak, Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet, Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani, Kanchanaburi, Suphan Buri, Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Ranong and Phang Nga were warned of flash floods.

People living in riverside areas in the lower North, Central and eastern regions were also told to brace for flooding.

The Public Health Ministry said there had been 100,000 cases of conjunctivitis over the past nine months, with 29,000 cases last month alone.

A southbound train was derailed yesterday morning after heavy rain eroded the track. No injuries were reported but train operations in the southernmost provinces were paralysed before resuming last night.

--The Nation 2006-09-27

Anyone know whether Pichai (not Pitchit) is badly affected?

I've a friend lives near the Nan River and cannot get him on the phone.....

[ThailandTony]

Keep building the houses on stilts guys.....hoist 'em high, keep 'em dry!

[monkey woods]

I always enjoy putting the blame for things like floods on governments. So, according to the Bible (and other traditional accounts), who was responsible for that BIG FLOOD--you know, the Noah one. Maybe there was a Thasin in an earlier incarnation!

Yeah, according to the Bible God was responsible for the Flood. So, all things being equal (Thaksin=God) maybe Thaksin is responsible for this one.

Only one problem: although he remembered to remove all of his suitcases to 'dry ground', he forgot to get anybody to organise the 'two of everything' plan.

Not very Godlike.

[teletiger]

LA NINA has nothing to do with it as LA NINA has disappeared already. It is being replaced by EL NINO that usually causes warmer and drier conditions than average. Thailand better prepare for the coming drought.

I thought I read last March, that the La Nina effect would last until May 2007. Just in time for the next monsoon season.

Regards

[astral]

Yeah, according to the Bible God was responsible for the Flood. So, all things being equal (Thaksin=God) maybe Thaksin is responsible for this one.

The first one was God,

Thaksin only thought he was.

[MaiChai]

I have a house in Sukhothai. This year has been terrible for flooding; think we have been flooded 4 times this year. This is bad considering prior to this year I think we have been flooded about 3/4 times in the last 10 years. Wife tells me water is pooring through the front door. Luckily we built an extension on the house which is raised about 3 feet and never gets flooded. From past experience its a matter of how they control the flood gates. Generally, priority is put on not flooding Bangkok, which means places upstream contain the water and get flooded

[Upcountry]

I have a house in Sukhothai. This year has been terrible for flooding; think we have been flooded 4 times this year. This is bad considering prior to this year I think we have been flooded about 3/4 times in the last 10 years. Wife tells me water is pooring through the front door. Luckily we built an extension on the house which is raised about 3 feet and never gets flooded. From past experience its a matter of how they control the flood gates. Generally, priority is put on not flooding Bangkok, which means places upstream contain the water and get flooded

Looks like we're all in for it. Let's hope smart people get empowered to deal with this problem before the next rainy season!

[monkey woods]

Looks like we're all in for it. Let's hope smart people get empowered to deal with this problem before the next rainy season!

Upcountry, unless those 'smart people' are able to refreeze very large quantities of ice, you all better get some heavy-duty sandbags.

[Jai Dee]

Nonthaburi is declared an emergency zone after being flooded heavily

Nonthaburi has been declared an emergency area after the Chao Praya River burst its banks and flooded several thousand houses.

Governor Pranai Suwannarat (พระนาย สุวรรณรัฐ) said the emergency declaration enables the provincial administration to use the 50-million baht emergency fund to relieve the plight of flood-affected people. Each district of the province also will be allocated five million baht for its flood relief schemes, Mr. Pranai said.

Koh Kred (เกาะเกร็ด), a famous tourist attraction, and several thousand homes along the river, have been heavily flooded.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 29 September 2006