How do you stay safe in 2-3 ft street floods , disease + electrocution etc

[BKKdreaming]

Hi

 

how do you "plan" for street floods ?

 

simple things like keeping your shoes dry   without fisherman waders / Wellies ?  

 

what  about all the nasties in the rain water ?   

 

or the swarms of electric wires and getting zapped  !   

 

It seems this year there are more street floods than the last few years ( or more airtime )  and the cars and trucks are not slowing down so the water wave they create makes it worse !

 

anyway I would like to hear what you do ,  or if you just do not go outside !

Edited September 25, 2016 by BKKdreaming

[Kwasaki]

Don't have any street flooding as you describe l guess our village is higher than surrounding areas apart from the numerous moats and canals and lakes around us.

Our bit farmland outside the village gets a lot of surface water on the grass area so l just put my wellies on. 

[Swiss1960]

My favorite bars are all elevated 3-5 feet, thus my feet stay dry while I wait for the water to go down ?

[kannot]

ask Robblok what he did

[bkk6060]

There is no plan.  Hazards also are stepping in a hole and twisting your ankle.  If you do not know the best/safeist route to your favorite bar, stay home.

[Don Mega]

I dont go outside when it is raining.

[robblok]

2 hours ago, kannot said:

ask Robblok what he did

 

Nothing special... during the 2011 floods. I was in the water on a daily base to make sure my dogs got out. Only got tricky when I sustained a cut on my leg that worried me but nothing happened.  60-90 cm in the streets

 

Did get scary that they caught a few crocodiles only 2km from my home. Just a few days before the dogs refused to go towards a certain point and I saw some movement in the water there (who knows what it was). 

 

Do have a wading suit now ordered after the 2011 floods.. people who had those were off so much better. But now that there is no YL and her agricultural minister to mess with the dams I doubt I will need it again. 

Edited September 25, 2016 by robblok

[blackcab]

In general most utility wires are overhead, safely out if the way of flood waters. You only have to worry if some bright spark orders the wires put underground.

 

Oh...

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, blackcab said:

In general most utility wires are overhead, safely out if the way of flood waters. You only have to worry if some bright spark orders the wires put underground.

 

Oh...

In most developed countries they are underground and there is no hazard when there are floods. They are under the ground

[kannot]

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

In most developed countries they are underground and there is no hazard when there are floods. They are under the ground

all mne underground too , special nyy cable and in hdpe trunking as  well 80cm down

[Crossy]

7 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

In most developed countries they are underground and there is no hazard when there are floods. They are under the ground

 

Until you read things like this http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/racing/two-racehorses-electrocuted-in-parade-ring-2213348.html leakage from an underground cable.

 

And this, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-33988957

 

I worry what will happen here when all the HV cables get moved underground.

 

 

[sensei]

#This

[RBOP]

When I was young and foolish I did wade through the flooded streets to get to work or go to corner store etc. I wore shorts and flip-flops. As soon as I got to work or home I washed down my legs with soap and water. After seeing some snakes swimming around in the flood water I will never wade again. Also you cant see the bottom in most cases so dangers of stepping on broken glass, holes etc is a risk. SUV or truck best for getting around. During the 2011 floods there were these little floating electricity testers going around but never seen them in the stores. If flooding is really bad local EMS and army will help people get in and out of the village. Pictures below I took yesterday in Muangthong Thani (Pakkret Soi 33 and Bondstreet). In my 22 years never seen Bondstreet flood before.

[Doc46]

Move to an area that doesn't flood ,worked for me.

[lazygourmet]

Move to the first floor and wait... Three months in my case back to 2011.

[blackcab]

10 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

In most developed countries they are underground and there is no hazard when there are floods. They are under the ground

 

The key word here is developed.

[chrisinth]

Not sure about keeping safe in Thailand, but it used to be a doddle back home.................

 

[Thaidream]

Went through the floods of 2011 in Pathum Thani- I never left the house for 22 days and the water rose each day.  Water reached about 90cm and the toilets started to back up except one upstairs. The electricity was off and on  but mostly on. People in other Sois were electrocuted when wires fell from the rain.  At night you could hear sounds nearby that normally you would only hear from the woods/jungle.  On the 23rd day- the Army came by with a loud speaker indicating everyone should evacuate. I and wife had already moved the cars to a friend  about 200 KM away that had no flood. Finally, rented a boat and went out to find no  way to get to Bangkok- we actually flagged down a pick up and had to offer 3,000 Baht for the driver to get us to Bangkok and then further South to Chonburi. What was normally a 60 minute drive actually took us 8 hours due to the expressways being gridlocked as people  parked their cars on the elevated highway to avoid flooding causing only a single lane to remain open.The water outside the house became terribly polluted and filled with huge lizards and some snakes. Really glad we left when we did.

It took another 15 days for the water to finally recede and what we found was a mess. It took about 150,000 Baht to get the house back to a livable state and we were lucky the electrical system was not compromised. After a year passed, we managed to sell the house for what we paid and vowed never to  live in a flood zone again.

The Government response was poor and the information put out on TV/Radio was useless- the main evacuation point was Don Muang Airport- only problem it flooded also. Then it was Thammasat Campus- that also flooded. Everyone who could got out did get out.

My advice is get plenty of supplies if you plan to ride it out- but when you hear the sounds of the jungle outside your door- get out quick because the jungle is coming to you...or is already at your doorstep and the water has got lots of things in it you don't want to mess with. Be safe.

[Scotwight]

I had to go from Soi Honey (cheap massage) to Soi Cheap Charlie for cheap dinner by way of Soi Buakhao.  I have three canes an aluminum one with a steel bayonet inside and a plastic one with pepperspray concealed in the tip and a wooden one with a hardened 8 ball on the top.  I switched to the wooden cane to prevent shock from the floating electric cables and was fine.

[bark]

During rainy season I always have sex, standing up. My girl trains also. Because she is bending over; she learned to

hold her breath for 45 seconds; then comes up for air. Boy scout training " Be Prepared "  Keeping Enjoying.

[robblok]

5 hours ago, sensei said:

#This

I actually got a pair like that bought it after the floods.. just checked if i still had it. I hope I wont need it but you never know.

[Ulic]

The waters go down quickly. Have a little patience have another beer.

Areas flood quickly but usually drain quickly as well.

[DefaultName]

I keep seeing people taking off their shoes to protect them.  Personally, I'd rather ruin a pair of shoes than risk a cut on my foot in that water. 

[BKKdreaming]

The reason I started this tread was seeing more flooding pictures everyday on Twitter etc ,  and remembering how bad it was in the Big BBK floods ,

I doubt it will get that bad again , but they are still going to save the central city part of BKK , but only by letting other areas flood more ,

But as Thaidream said above , you can be stuck a long time , and there are nasties in the water ,

 

So does anyone know how far the electric voltage travels from the spot it contacts the water ?   and is still dangerous ?

I remember in old movies where they would "catch" fish by zapping them with electricity , I just do not want to be one of those  fish :)

 

Stay safe

[DSJPC]

2-3 footers, eh??...in that case I would wish I was living in a two-story dwelling...otherwise, just stock up on lotsa beer and SangSom...time to practice your backstroke!