# Record Flooding in Thailand **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 8, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013 "2011-10-08T17:30:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/61 "2011-10-26T03:03:07Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > And whatever help you get, make it pass as your own, have you seen the government aid kits and private donations relabeled with PTPs (Thaksin’s party) logo or with some PTP MP name on it? > > Disgusting! :mad: That’s like North Korea. So now the Bangkok governor is warning all of Bangkok to brace for flooding. He finally admitted last night (Tuesday night) that all of Bangkok will likely be hit, maybe as soon as tomorrow. Update [here](http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/263173/chao-phraya-on-the-brink). We’re not too far from the river but not right on the river. Our district does border it, and based on the map in the link, we’re either in a 50-100cm zone or a 1-2m zone, hard to tell. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/62 "2011-10-26T13:10:19Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Orient Thai, another budget airline (Motto: “You Fly, You Die”; or at least, I think that’s what it is) I thought it was One Two Crash. ☹ Good luck everyone. I’ll be there for a couple of days in December so can you have it cleaned up for me by then please. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/63 "2011-10-26T13:18:21Z")
Hope you all stay safe and dry! ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/64 "2011-10-26T13:38:32Z")
I’m planning on hightailing to Hua Hin (actually a bit South from there) on the weekend, I hope the roads won’t be too flooded, but I anticipate an epic traffic jam. Just in case we’ve stocked up a couple weeks worth of water and food at home (5th floor apartment), I think that should be enough. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/65 "2011-10-26T13:41:59Z")
By the way, the utterly inept PM came out today saying that she was 50% confident that inner Bangkok wouldn’t be flooded. Og have mercy on us all… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/66 "2011-10-26T17:07:29Z")
[CNN.com](http://CNN.com)’s coverage as of today: [http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/26/world/asia/thailand-flood/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/26/world/asia/thailand-flood/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/67 "2011-10-27T00:55:07Z")
The pictures in the Bangkok post this morning show Chinatown is flooded. So that means the Chao Phraya must now have breached way further south than Don Muang. Have the Royal Palace and Wat Pho gone under? Banglamphu? ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/68 "2011-10-27T01:05:01Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > The pictures in the Bangkok post this morning show Chinatown is flooded. So that means the Chao Phraya must now have breached way further south than Don Muang. Have the Royal Palace and Wat Pho gone under? Banglamphu? I’ve seen some photos of the area around Wat Phra Keaw (Royal Palace) and it has about 40 or 50 cm of water, I suppose Wat Pho should be in a similar state. My area (about 2 kilometers North of the Asoke/Sukhumvit intersecion) still looks dry, but around my office it may be flooding now, I’ll find out in a couple hours. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/69 "2011-10-27T02:32:41Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I thought it was One Two Crash. ☹ > > Good luck everyone. I’ll be there for a couple of days in December so can you have it cleaned up for me by then please. Well, it did use to be [One Two Crash](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-Two-GO_Airlines) before the Phuket incident four years ago. But we’ll see what we can do about the city for you. > [@Ale](#): > > I’m planning on hightailing to Hua Hin (actually a bit South from there) on the weekend, I hope the roads won’t be too flooded, but I anticipate an epic traffic jam. Good luck on finding a room! Call ahead. I hear everyone’s heading there. Still bone dry in my corner deep in the heart of Bangkok and not too far from the river. I think the rains are largely over, although we did have a hellacious storm the other night. All we can find on local TV at the moment are cooking and gossip shows, so the situation must be stable to some extent. But everyone’s waiting for the hammer to drop. I hear Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, the road in front of the closed Don Muang Airport, now resembles a canal. The cental bank decided no bank holiday like for the civil servants, so the wife will probably clear up some banking business the next couple of days just in case. Last year Bangkok was burning. This year it’s water. I wonder about next year … ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/70 "2011-10-27T02:39:00Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Last year Bangkok was burning. This year it’s water. I wonder about next year … It’ll be very windy. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/71 "2011-10-27T02:52:10Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > It’ll be very windy. Yeah, I guess that’s what happens when you eat lots of durian. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/72 "2011-10-27T03:40:40Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > It’ll be very windy. (Yeah, better not to tell him about the incoming meteor). ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/73 "2011-10-27T06:42:45Z")
Today’s _Bangkok Post_ refers to recent sluice gate mismanagement at Bangkok’s north, but I still think the big mistake that led to this catastrophe was [mismanagement several months ago at giant reservoirs like Bhumiphol and Sirikit Dams](http://asiancorrespondent.com/67306/thailand-why-was-so-much-water-kept-in-the-dams-part-ii/): > [@](#): > > “If water was released from the dams in a proper way, the flooding would be less severe,” said Suphat Vongvisessomjai, a water expert who has designed flood defenses across Thailand. “They just kept on collecting water so they have as much as possible to use in the dry season. This is the main problem.” > > Suthep Noipairoj, head of the Irrigation Department’s Office of Hydrology and Water Management, said discharges from the dams were reduced starting in April because some agriculture lands downstream were already flooded. > > “The dams are full because the rainfall in the northern part of the country reached a new record high this year,” he said by phone. “It’s not true that we reduced the water released because we were concerned about water shortages. The people who said this just want to find a scapegoat.” I don’t know whether Suphat or Suthep is correct about _why_ water was held back, but either way it was a mistake. The article has graphs showing that reservoir levels were allowed to rise above 2010 levels as early as April. Rainfall etc. are unpredictable, so there are risk/reward tradeoffs. At least in hindsight it should be clear the risk was unacceptable and major mistakes were made. (We can hope the ruling Party gets the blame. :dubious: ) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/74 "2011-10-27T13:27:03Z")
It’s difficult to believe some of the international reporting on this. BBC TV, in live reports – from here in Bangkok, so you’d think they could get this right – keeps saying that the five-day holiday is for everyone. No, it is only for civil servants and other government officials. It also started saying today that all of Bangkok has been ordered evacuated. Everyone must leave NOW, it quotes the government. WTF?!? No, that’s not true. The government has _suggested_ that _some_ people _might_ want to _consider_ leaving for this long weekend, but there’s been no widespread evacuation order. CNN too. It’s website claims _all_ of Bangkok _will_ be underwater _today_ (Thursday). Says this is according to the prime minister. Now, this _is_ one stupid woman, but even she has said nothing of the sort. It’s going on 8:30pm Thursday night right now, and most of Bangkok is still bone dry, including my district. I have no idea where she gets her information from, but my sister-in-law, the one sheltering in Bangkok from outside the city, says my district is due to be hit next Monday. Who knows? That’s as good a guess as anyone’s. I’ve heard there’s a little water seeping over into a small park at the base of the Rama IX Bridge not too far away, but that’s probably due to high tides in the Gulf of Thailand. The Bangkok governor seems to think something will happen in another day or two, but this is the umpteenth time we’ve been told “another day or two.” Whatever is going to happen, I wish it would go ahead and get it over with. This is getting tedious. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/75 "2011-10-27T14:03:56Z")
Oh, and Nok Air managed to switch to Suvarnabhumi Airport and will be almost back to full service by tomorrow. I’d mentioned above that they had canceled all their flights to the end of the month. They’ve been granted air slots at Suvarnabhumi. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/76 "2011-10-28T02:19:14Z")
Friday morning, and we’re still high and dry. But many people really are leaving Bangkok, and I have to say the exodus is alleviating the sudden taxi shortage to some extent. And the traffic is a dream now. I don’t mean to dismiss the situation though. They really are getting soaked in the northern suburbs and edges, plus now the nearer neighborhoods in the Thonburi area across the river – always considered a poor cousin to Bangkok proper – are starting to take a soaking. Latest word is central Bangkok will get it this weekend, and now they’re thinking of digging some massive channels to funnel the water away. Story [here](http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/263533/froc-floats-road-drainage-plan). They think they can do this quickly enough, but I’m a bit skeptical. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/77 "2011-10-28T16:23:22Z")
Going on 11:30pm Friday now, and still no water. But we’re assured it’s coming. And it may really be too, as upper Sukhumvit Road started taking on some water today, Sois 48 and 50, close to the Bang Na-Trat intersection. I did discover tonight that while many essential goods have been snapped up from store shelves, the little convenience store in our compound still has an admirable stock of beer. If they’re forced to close, I can always shove a brick through the window. We’ve witnessed many families packing up and leaving our compound these past few days, and we figure if we’re the only ones left here, we can always loot their units. Making lemonade out of lemons, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/78 "2011-10-29T01:31:31Z")
Jeez, the Bangkok Post is a bit dramatic today: “Thon Buri doomed”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/79 "2011-10-29T02:49:52Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Jeez, the Bangkok Post is a bit dramatic today: “Thon Buri doomed”. Earlier this week, it said: “Nonthaburi gone.” The authorities have nixed the massive-channels digging plan. I’m going to go to the main post office today (Saturday) to mail off some stuff while I still can. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013/80 "2011-10-29T04:20:02Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’m going to go to the main post office today (Saturday) to mail off some stuff while I still can. Think it’ll get through? A friend of mine in Krabi has been waiting two weeks for a letter mailed from the UK. General concensus is that it’s stuck in Bangkok because of the flooding. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-flooding-in-thailand/599013.md?page=5)