‘I tried my best’ says mayor to Bangkokians wading through floodwater

[DPKANKAN]

Perhaps he should have tried the row of long tail boats to move the water quicker, like some senior minister suggested a few years ago! 55555

[owl sees all]

27 minutes ago, Dobredin Ghusputin said:

Have they tried putting sandbags into drains?

Everyone knows they were only storing them there. So they could lake them out and quickly use them to stop the water going into the drains!!

Edited May 26, 2017 by owl sees all
syntax error

[MaxLee]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

‘I tried my best’ says mayor to Bangkokians wading through floodwater

Just admit, you can't do SH*******.....

Edited May 26, 2017 by MaxLee

[Seismic]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Agreed...  With so much concrete the roads would all have to slope directly the sea to handle this level of rainfall in such a short spell. 

Any city in the world would flood under such circumstances. Systems are simply not designed or able to cope with such amounts of water (167mm over night).

 

That said: IF the drains are doing their job, all roads and most areas should be clear of pooled water by now. 

Strange but I never say anything like this level of flooding in Singapore, But then they actually designed floodways and correct drainage and do not allow waterways to be cut off by illegal buildings. They also dont allow them to be blocked by everyone throwing their garbage into the drainage.

[CGW]

12 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

On a couple of these threads people are using examples of other developed cities in their criticism of Bangkok. However, they (you CGW) are using arguments based on flawed opinion which can be readily disputed with a simple google search. 

 

Singapore suffered flash foods this year...

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/flash-floods-in-orchard-road-central-areas-as-heavy-rains-blanket-island

 

http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/singapore-hit-flash-floods-after-heavy-rain

Did you read the links you posted? less than 100m of road flooded in Singapore, hardly compares with the huge areas of Bangkok that get inundated with water, sometimes for months on end. My "flawed opinion" believes they have taken action to keep the flooding which in one case never affected traffic to a bare minimum.

[PETERTHEEATER]

When we first married 45 years ago my Thai wife and I lived in rented accommodation second floor of a four apartment house on stilts. Large garden that flooded to nearly 2 metres during the rainy season. Each morning I would swim to the main gate to get my daily newspaper.It was always there in its tube on the gate above the waterline; the newspaper 'boy' delivered by boat!

 

Nothing has changed.

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, CGW said:

Did you read the links you posted? less than 100m of road flooded in Singapore, hardly compares with the huge areas of Bangkok that get inundated with water, sometimes for months on end. My "flawed opinion" believes they have taken action to keep the flooding which in one case never affected traffic to a bare minimum.

 

....those were the first two google hits of a full page of examples of flash-flooding in Singapore... 

 

It would seem that Singapore encountersflooding yearly, as do many cites situated in the Tropics. 

 

Read this Wiki Link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010–13_Singapore_floods

 

The point remains that Singapore floods, as does any other Major city when inundated with extreme levels of precipitation. 

There could be many improvements to Bangkok's drainage, but outlining that other cities have solved the issue through their advanced engineering is flawed, because when the big storm hits, these cities also experience flash-flooding. 

 

As recently as April 18th:  http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/flash-floods-hit-parts-of-singapore-on-tuesday-afternoon

 

 

With Flash-Flooding being almost unavoidable... The real questions should be.. 'How long does it take until the flood water clears' ??

 

[richard_smith237]

20 minutes ago, Seismic said:

Strange but I never say anything like this level of flooding in Singapore, But then they actually designed floodways and correct drainage and do not allow waterways to be cut off by illegal buildings. They also dont allow them to be blocked by everyone throwing their garbage into the drainage.

 

You have now... 

 

 

 

 

[Orton Rd]

2 hours ago, colinneil said:

Everywhere there will be more flooding every year, main reason is all the construction/concrete being laid.

Each year there is less open ground to help absorb the water.

Why can city planners, developers not see this?

spot on, they filled in most all the klongs, concreted everything and put in poor drains. On the other side of the river it floods far less as that has been done to a far lesser degree.

[anon4546543]

Err, I think the post is about BKK floods. 

I think hurricanes, tsunamis, cyclones occur all over the tropics.

You can mitigate some of the problems, not solve extreme precipitation.

If I was to comment on US wildfires and pour scorn on the governor of California for an annual event, I would rightly be called ill informed if I was to say, TIC. This is California.

I doubt some of the posters have ever lived in the tropics. Their diatribe of stupid malicious posts attests to this. Enough about an annual event in the tropics.

Enough of silly posters. ENUF

[williamgeorgeallen]

well apologies are rare in thailand and here we have one. not that it achieves anything. have to wonder what his best was really. remember the fortune spent after the 2011 floods. also wonder what that achieved. more tunnels to full with garbage and sand i suspect.

[klauskunkel]

4 hours ago, colinneil said:

Everywhere there will be more flooding every year, main reason is all the construction/concrete being laid.

Each year there is less open ground to help absorb the water.

Why can city planners, developers not see this?

they are afflicted by Brown-Envelope-Tunnelvision-Syndrom, or BETS

maybe in the future all BETS will be off... boy, I'm optimistic today

[digger70]

Maybe they should have started the Flood program when it started to Flood ,,,Way back than ,Like 100 years ago,It will only get worse ,Not enough drainage,country to low for runoff to the sea,to many buildings stopping absorption . And not enough work done on drains and keeping them clean from Rubbish.

[Surasak]

5 hours ago, quadperfect said:

Hey he tried his best. 

Maybe tomorrow will be better. 

True, the rain has stopped for now!

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, colinneil said:

Everywhere there will be more flooding every year, main reason is all the construction/concrete being laid.

Each year there is less open ground to help absorb the water.

Why can city planners, developers not see this?

in a word "MONEY"

or if you like two

"PROFIT"

[soalbundy]

unfortunately I believe him

[seajae]

would also help a real lot if the people stopped throwing all their rubbish etc in the gutters etc, the amount of crap people simply toss in the streets etc is why everything blocks up when it rains. The amount of times I have had to clear the drains in our end of the street when it rains so that we dont get flooded in our house is beyond a joke, the lazy bastards simply toss it all over their front fences, doesnt matter how good the drainage system is when the people dont give a sh*t and block it up.

[ChrisY1]

Aslose.....and his brilliant team of hydraulic engineers, that believe water flows uphill

[nausea]

Bangkok was once nicknamed the Venice of the East, with an extensive open canal system draining excess flood water to the sea. The khlongs were covered with roads as part of the modernisation process. I suspect this was done on a adhoc basis with little thought given to affects on drainage. Obviously, now needs a massive planned investment in infrastructure to manage the problem. I doubt they'll ever stop flooding, after all it happens everywhere, but they can ensure it's effects are mitigated and it drains away fairly quickly. Needs some people with "vision". 

[Moonmoon]

my shop in RAM 2 opposite Mega BangNa was flooded. Luckily I had nothing on the ground and nothing was ruined except we had to mop the floor to clear it of the stench unlike other shop retailers who had placed their goods and stocks on the night before destroyed by the stinky floodwaters 

[Stargeezr]

Most of the Klongs in the city are either covered over or full of dirt and silt, this does not help the situation.

  The city could dredge the klongs and the covered over ones get unplugged as well, but that would be too much

hard work, so  Sia Jai I am so sorry, but not my fault is the easier way for City officials and the mayor to adress

the problem.

[Chris Lawrence]

Apirak Kosayothin and Sukhumbhand Paribatra  were The Governors during July 2000 and October 2016 and were entrusted to mobilise Flood Mitigation Programs during their tenure.

 

Apirak is good mates with Abhisit.

 

Both were removed from their posts. Apirak was rewarded by being special advisor to Abhisit. Both Mayors were Democrats. Apirak was found not guilty of any wrong doing in 2011, whilst having important position in Government.

 

If you do some reading up on all these gentleman, and their relationships, they appear to be untouchables. The questions should be put back to them, but that won't happen. 

[Catkiwi]

17 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Geez, did you not get the memo.

 

It's not "flooding", but rather 'water queuing to drain'. Bangkok is a monkey-cheek, we should probably get used to it.

Please expound on "monkey cheek". Im obviously not up withe the play.....I am thinking that perhaps since BKK is slowly being taken over by rising sea levels, maybe there is no where for the water to go????

[Laughing Gravy]

17 hours ago, owl sees all said:

This is not easy for one guy to solve. A 20 year plan with plenty of dosh will be the only way.

 

Some of the posts on this topic are spot-on;

 

canals blocked

BKK sinking

Very flat - little run off slope to the sea

more 'big rain' in the future

swimming lessons

rising sea levels.

 

But the big thing that is missing here is the political will to do any thing about it.

 

Also many people 'take a cut', so by the time they start doing any building or repairs the money isn't enough, so they cut corers and the work is substandard. It goes around again. The roads are a great example.

Edited May 27, 2017 by Laughing Gravy

[YetAnother]

18 hours ago, owl sees all said:

canals blocked

BKK sinking

Very flat - little run off slope to the sea

more 'big rain' in the future

swimming lessons

rising sea levels.

agreed; dont forget the blocked drains

[Geoffggi]

18 hours ago, wirat69 said:

When your best just isn't good enough......!!!!

Replace them with someone better qualified Q.E.D.

[mtls2005]

FURNITURE, TONNES OF WASTE BLOCKING BANGKOK DRAINAGE (PHOTOS)

 

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/2017/05/26/furniture-tonnes-waste-blocking-bangkok-drainage-photos/

[mike324]

Perhaps we should ask YIngluck when she said no more floods with the hundreds of billions spent on flood prevention! lol

[Gandtee]

The mayor is like King Canute trying to stem the tide. An impossible task in my opinion. Why they are still building in Bangkok is beyond me. According to reports by the experts Bangkok is one of the cities that will be inundated and lost in the not too distant future.

[owl sees all]

19 hours ago, spiderorchid said:

Err, I think the post is about BKK floods. 

I think hurricanes, tsunamis, cyclones occur all over the tropics.

You can mitigate some of the problems, not solve extreme precipitation.

 

Greater BKK is a huge area, with an inadequate, poor and poorly maintained run off system. It takes time for the flood waters to disperse and does damage along the way as water just runs off where nature dictates rather than being correctly channeled.

 

The problems BKK has.

 

1. It is built on a flood plain.

2. there is no permeable rock strata to absorb water.

3. the water table is permanently high (less than 2 metres average deep).

4. there is insufficient run-off differential (slope) to the sea to facilitate channeling.

5. sinking (subsidence).

6. rising sea levels.

7. a reactionary rather than a forward thinking government.

 

and to a lessor degree; what drainage there is in place is abused or/and not maintained.

 

The concrete everywhere does not help but is not the reason for flooding; its main damage is to exacerbate the subsidence; which the Thai Government estimate to be 2cm per year. There is nothing that can be done to stop the rain but water from the north could be diverted around certain important areas. 

 

And if, as been predicted, sea levels rise up to 1.5 metres in the next 30 years, then only big thinking can help the city. There are things that can be done. A causeway across the bay (Pattaya to Hua hin?) is feasible but expensive (better get those subs out early). Once humans start tapping the great wealth of the moon (helium) big shipping will become a relic anyway. So given this, the Thais could turn the new bay into the world's first airship port!! What a fantastic opportunity to join the 'first' world!!

 

I don't personally think that BKK will become uninhabitable in 15 years. I prefer my own data which suggests 25/30 years. Anyone bothered yet!!