Eight hundred and ten millimeters of rain in two weeks
Rainy season (Photo: kamolwan Aimpongpaitoon / Shutterstock.com)
After a relatively dry period of rain, we received no less than 81 cm of rain here in Ubon in the past two weeks. That is as much as there is in a year in the Netherlands and about half of the annual rainfall in Ubon. So very much. Even if you compare it with Hurricane Dorian, which left “only” 30 to 60 cm of rain in the Bahamas.
Why so much rain? Just bad luck. Last week with 63 cm of rain, the remnants of two tropical storms came over in succession. One per year in the late season is common, sometimes two, but two in quick succession, which is rare. And in the week before that happened to be a few tropical showers, which is of course normal for the rainy season, although 18 cm in a week is a lot.
Which also doesn't happen often: no sun for a week and temperatures during the day of sometimes only 22 degrees Celsius. Something different from a tropical shower of an hour or sometimes much shorter.
We ourselves had little trouble with it because we have relatively high-altitude land that is therefore unsuitable for rice cultivation and therefore cheap to purchase. The farmers here have a harder time with rice fields that are so high in water that the rice is no longer visible. Unfortunately a lost harvest and only 1000 baht compensation per rai. Furthermore, little damage here in the immediate vicinity, although we had little (120 volts) or no power for more than two days. Normally this is quickly resolved here because our neighbor across the street has a high position at the PEA (Provincial Electricity Authority) but this time there was no start due to all those short circuits and fallen trees. Those trees didn't fall over because of the wind, but because of the soft ground they stood in.
Naturally, nature also notices the necessary things from all that rain: fish that cross the road where the road surface is under water and scorpions and snakes that look for a dry spot. So now you have to be careful.
It may have been a bit much rain in one place, but I'm glad it fell.
Perhaps there is now enough water available to bridge the coming dry period.
Incidentally, no flooding has been noticed in the village, but over the years it has become higher than the surrounding rice fields.
Back in the Netherlands since March, after 11 years in Thailand I understand less and less of the planning of the Thai government. My wife mentioned this water phenomenon (an avid watcher of channel 8hd that she is), and I think with my Dutch cap: First too dry, now too wet. Simple solution are reservoirs in the right place. This is now going to happen on the sandy soils in the Netherlands: underground storage, storage in floodplains, etc. The weather is becoming more and more extreme, all over the globe. Be prepared!
By the way, with that disaster in the Bahamas you mentioned in passing: 7000 people are now missing…..
Dear Hans Pronk,
As for the water 'was to be expected'.
We also had regular power outages.
What I came up with here are “electronic starters” that operate the TLs at a very low amperage
let it burn, so not the normal starters, which require a peak voltage.
The whole village was in the dark, not us.
Yours faithfully,
Erwin
Emergency lamps are available at hardware stores. Leave the plug in the socket and they will automatically charge and turn on in the event of a power failure. Around 1000 baht and they stay lit for up to 48 hours. The same as in 7elevens, Lotus and other stores, I bought one 3 days ago. In addition, keep rechargeable portable LED lamps on hand for other rooms, 1 baht each and a light output comparable to a fluorescent lamp and last up to 500 hours of light.
That 48 hours is at most when they are new.
My emergency lighting lasts a few hours, but definitely not 48.
There should actually be a switch on it to turn off 1 of the two lamps.