FLOODS AND WEATHER FORECAST IN THAILAND
UPDATE 08/10/2011: Residents of nine areas in eastern Bangkok have been warned about flooding: Khlong Bang Phrom, Khong Chimphlee (Buddhamondhol 1), Khlong Bang Waek (Ratchadapisek Road), Khlong Premprachakorn (Don Muang), Khlong Lat Phrao (Wat Lat Phrao), Pak Khlong Talad, Khlong Bang Sue (Phaholyothin Road) and Khlong Mahasawat (Buddhamond Cave 2).
Thailand is experiencing the worst flooding in 52 years. The death toll has risen to over 250 and the economic damage is enormous.
At least 2,6 million people are affected in 28 provinces. It is estimated that the floods destroyed 7,5 million rai of agricultural land. More than 180 roads are impassable due to flooding.
Weather forecast
Large parts of Thailand and especially Central Thailand (Bangkok and surrounding provinces) are under the influence of a low pressure area. This causes frequent and heavy rain showers that can cause flooding. This situation will continue for the next 3 – 4 days. Especially the provinces of Kanchanaburi, Phra Nakhon, Ayutthaya, Nakhon Pathom and Rachaburi have to reckon with heavy rainfall.
There is also a moderate monsoon active in Southwest Thailand. This causes turbulent weather over the Andaman Sea, southern Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand. Waves of two meters are expected on the Andaman Sea. Ships should exercise due caution.
The weather in Thailand can be followed on the website of the Thailand Meteorological Department. Look here for the current weather forecast: www.tmd.go.th/en
Tourists and floods
The current flooding has some influence on tourism. However, the nuisance is regional and limited to certain provinces, including Ang Thong, Ayutthaya, Chai Nat, Chaiyaphum, Kalasin, Kampheang Phet, Khon Kaen, Lamphun, Lop Buri, Mae Hong Son, Mahasarakham, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Ratchasima , Nakhon Sawan, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Prachin Buri, Saraburi, Sing Buri, Sukhothai, Suphan Buri, Ubon Ratchathani and Uthai Thani.
The weather conditions in tourist destinations such as Chiang Mai, Loei, Phuket, Krabi, Hua Hin and Samui are normal.
Tourists who leave for Thailand in the coming days will have to deal with a lot of rain in Central Thailand. The historic city of Ayutthaya is difficult or impossible to reach. Parts of the province are under water. Another popular tourist hotspot: Kanchanaburi (Bridge over the River Kwai) is experiencing a lot of rainfall and the weather forecast for the coming days is unfavourable.
Sections of highways have been closed since October 7, including the Asia Highway, the main highway north of Bangkok. Bus and train connections between Bangkok and cities in the North (Chiang Mai) are irregular or no longer possible.
Tourists planning to journey to flood-affected provinces are advised to check the latest weather forecasts for their destination. Also check whether public transport is operational. Tourists can call the TAT Information Line (tel. no. 1672).
Tourists in need of urgent assistance due to the flooding should contact the English-speaking Tourist Police on the national telephone number 1155.
Bangkok
The situation in Bangkok could deteriorate rapidly in the coming days, especially given the weather forecast. The most critical situation will arise between October 15 – 17 when floodwaters from the north will reach Bangkok. The situation is becoming more dire because Bangkok and surrounding provinces in Central Thailand are experiencing a low pressure area that is responsible for a lot of rainfall. Because all rivers and floodplains are full, the water cannot be drained towards the sea.
Resources and more information:
– TAT news: www.tatnews.org/situation_update/
– Thai weather service: www.tmd.go.th/en
–Bangkok Mail: www.bangkokpost.com/
– The Nation: www.nationmultimedia.com/
I don't like it because I have my wife there and I am deeply concerned about her flooding, a lot of suffering, illness, hunger, destruction, homelessness.
Kind regards, Benny Greiving
Extremely useful piece of information Peter. Thanks for this.
On October 13th I will reach Bangkok (from the Netherlands) in the morning. Now I have booked a hotel in Bangkok until October 16. We go to the Nouvo City hotel.
The address of this hotel is: Banglamphu, Pranakorn
2 Samsen 2, Samsen Road, Bangkok 10200
Are we in a 'safe' part of Bangkok? If not, will the water level possibly rise to such a level that evacuation is possible? Whether they will probably stick to 'minor' nuisance?
@ It is still too early to say anything about October 13th. It is best to keep an eye on the websites mentioned in the article. The situation can vary from day to day.
Can you advise me on which parts of Thailand are travelable in about 3 to 4 weeks?
@ Dear Karin, there is nothing to say about that yet. The situation sometimes changes hourly.
Excellent reporting, thank you!
Just now http://www.tmd.go.th/en/ but is not very current, last screenshot is from 11.45 am thai time….
So far I have not been able to find anything comparable to the NL Buienradar.nl, anyone else have more suggestions?
Maybe you have something here.
http://www.wunderground.com/q/zmw:00000.16.48456
kind regards ana
This site is always on storm. Even in summer.
My flight arrives 10 0ctober in the afternoon at 12:30. I wonder if I will manage to get to Bang Len, quite exciting.
i plan to go to thailand soon for 14 days first to bangkok 7 days and then to koh samed 7 days.
after 14 days i come back to bangkok to fly to laos, then malaysia and indonesia.
I wonder if the areas in Thailand are not advisable, but it is probably impossible to say before the date of stay there?
people are even talking about problems until 2012, hence my doubts whether I should go.
my journey takes a few months.
thanks for a comment!
eduard
@ Just do it. You can always adjust your trip. On Koh Samet nothing is going on as far as I know.
thank you for this sensible answer!
eduard
my parents travel October 10 with fox travel to thailand for a 22 day tour northern thailand the first four days start in bangkok then Kanchanaburi – Ayutthaya
Phitsanulok–Sukothai
Chiang Rai
Gulf of Siam
Can you tell me if these areas are accessible
according to fox there is nothing to little going on, but I just saw the 8 hour journal and I have my doubts
@ In Kanchanaburi a lot of rain is expected, but according to this map there are no floods http://www.thailandtourismupdate.com/map.html
The situation is serious in Ayutthaya province.
You can rely on Fox because they will adjust the program, I think. Many roads are impassable: http://t.co/Ix48oRtx
We were quickly evacuated from Ayutthaya, thanks to family and two large trucks, 90 percent of our household goods were saved, both dogs and both cars. Collected in Bkk with family, but we don't know if we are still safe here. Our hamlet has not been flooded for 60 years.
Latest messages from neighbors, who could not leave, the water is now 1.50 m high in our house.
what was left is lost.
Tomorrow some former colleagues will arrive in BKK for a Tour. They had taken info in Belgium at the travel agency based on the info I gave them this week.
The travel agency's answer was: Don't lift too heavy, it's not all that bad.
Well when they come here they can see it's not so bad, HYPOCRITE STATE.
I wonder why there is so little coverage in Europe about the situation in Thailand, Censorship or fear of losing tourist revenue?
@ Lots of strength Luc, we sympathize with you!
No, no censorship. Ignorance and stupidity. A colleague from De Telegraaf always said: “You have to divide the number of kilometers by the number of victims. Then you have the news value”. The Dutch media have become navel-gazers, without occasionally looking outside.
Good luck Luke. Don't forget to go to the grocery store tomorrow and stock up on a few boxes of emergency food (Mama can last you weeks), plus other items. I'm going to Tesco tomorrow to get the following; Mama, chocolate, canned soups, dried meat, pasta and other long-life stuff. Don't wait until it's too late. The chance of a huge catastrophe in Bangkok is small, but not inconceivable. You can drink water from the tap in BKK (for now). If nothing happens, those incorruptible things will remain good anyway.
@ Cor, noodles and water are no longer available in some Tesco's.
@Peter,
I suspect in Bangkok West, where we live, still, but good that you mention it. I'm going down now to hoard the condo super empty. I'll go to Tesco for the Cambell's minestrone soup 😉 It's probably not too bad, but you never know...
@ Cor: I got this photo from Robert: http://t.co/fwsCxD7S
the same applies to drinking water. http://pic.twitter.com/RGhPOxhm
@ Cor Verhoef, Cor you have a very nice item to teach your kids something very beautiful at school and to make them understand about these water conditions. How we try and are still trying to eliminate these problems. How we are working to guarantee the safety of our population with flooding! It will take you some time and research, but the end result will be a great lesson for you and your schoolchildren.
@Marcos,
The day before yesterday I was thinking about putting together a Powerpoint lesson about the Delta Works and about what Dutch hydraulic engineers have done for work in Bangla Desh, where there has hardly been any serious flooding in the last decade. However, I myself am not a hydraulic engineer (far from it) and rack my brain in what form to cast it, so that it remains understandable and logical for my students.
There is so much information available on the internet that it is difficult to know where to start. But you're absolutely right. I will definitely do something with it.
@ Cor, I'm trying to give a push. That “we” also experienced a terrible flood disaster in 1953 and what we then did to prevent it in the future. Think of floodplains, digging rivers deeper (dredging), dykes, straightening rivers so that the water can flow more quickly to the sea.
I wish you success and would love to hear more about it once you've put the lesson into practice.
I have previously responded to an article about the flood by Dick. I've been watching the river for three weeks. I'm in Bang phlat, ground floor condo. That is 200 meters from the Rama 7 railway bridge. The red blocks on the pillars of the bridge were already completely submerged last Sunday and the water was already halfway down the first sandbags. There are only two layers of sandbags. People are completely unprepared for the large flow of water from the north. In Bang Sue, directly on the other side of the bridge, there is a pump that only pumps away the water that runs on the quay. Bags of sand that are not stacked properly and will certainly not be able to cope with the large amount of water that is yet to come!!! If there is no water on the quay at low tide, the pump is turned off!!!??? Instead of moving the pump to the river and letting the pump pump constantly, it is only 30 meters, so as to help discharge the water. But no, the thoughts don't go that far. Perhaps it would have been advisable to seek help from experts outside Thailand. Already making preparations to protect the condo from water. I'm making elevations for the freezer and refrigerator etc. But hoping the water doesn't get too high.
I wish you luck! Having to look at something, the rising water, which you have no influence on, but which can strongly influence you and your surroundings, seems like a kind of nightmare to me. You keep us informed?
GerG,
I wish you luck, because you will need it. I moved out of Bang Phlat last year, even though we didn't live in the vulnerable part where you live.
The lack of logic in Thais is sometimes something to drive mad. And I challenge any commenter who accuses Westerners of a partiarchal mentality, when comments are made that things can be done better and more efficiently, to respond NOW. hello!!??
I am in sanit wong road soi 96/1. In the back you have two 11 story high buildings with 648 condos in each. Here, too, they had no problems until now. Most still think they won't get in trouble. But on the street it is the talk of the day.
Everyone is talking about the water that is coming. But it doesn't dawn on them that it is much worse now than in 1995. My neighbor told me that there is no more sand available. He's going to China for work tomorrow. On my advice, he made a few shelves in his house where he can put his things. Let's hope that the water here does not rise higher than 1 meter, otherwise everything will still be wet.
I have made plans myself to make my condo watertight, but whether that will succeed remains to be seen. We will place the expensive items at a height of two meters.
Just come from the river. The water is now just as high as yesterday, so again slightly higher than the border. So if this week the big flow of water from the north is here, I'd like to see how they get it out?
Hello EVERYONE I would like to have information about or the town of BUA YAI JN. also is flooded maybe there is someone who lives in thailand who could tell me that. THINK it's terrible for the people i thailand.
Nobody has a crystal ball? I do… Oh no, shit, the crystal ball is floating away. Godv..no!! my crystal ball!! Ning, save the crystal ball!!
@ LOL Only when the bottles of beer float away is there real panic 😉
Hihi, it would be nice to have a Glass Ball in your case. when you're inundated (pun not intended) with questions about the weather in a week's time, by jittery thailand-goers…
Anyway, I just stocked up on a mountain of Mama, plus beef jerki, my crystal ball isn't edible, so we let it float away, and I've signed up for a sandbag filling squad near me. We Bangkokians don't let ourselves be fooled…;-)
@ Very good Cor. You are a Dutchman and the fight against rising water is in our genes. So hop on the barricades, eeh I mean on the sandbags… 😉
Was just in tesco lotus there was no more noodle available. There too we hear people say that they want to hoard before the water comes.
5555. Cor, in all your enthusiasm, do Ning know swimming?
@Marcos,
No, Ning ken in all her enthusiasm, not swimming. But Ning, in all her enthusiasm, doesn't panic either.
Seriously, Ning is as calm as a corpse and we both know that if things get this fast around here - the locals laughed scornfully when I emptied their shops and assured me we were safe - we won't drown. I am a good swimmer and who knows, maybe that will come in handy to help not good swimmers out of trouble. Ning and I have had hotter/wetter fires…;-)
@ Cor, local residents laughed scornfully? 55555. safe?
Have nothing to do with safe why you buy the store empty!
You have to raise their eyebrows and say: Rather one
about a full refrigerator now and food all week, then an empty refrigerator in 3 days and nothing to eat for the rest of the week. Would they understand him?