MILLION CITY BANGKOK THREAT TO FLOOD
Panic seems to be hitting the Thai capital Bangkok. The residents are preparing for the worst. Empty shelves in shops and cars parked on bridges paint a grim picture. The Thai do everything they can to protect their possessions. Yesterday's speech by Prime Minister Yingluck does not make things any better. She admitted in an emotional press conference that the Thai government did not ...
Message from the Dutch embassy in Bangkok
The Dutch embassy in Bangkok has sent an email calling on registered Dutch citizens in Thailand to be extremely attentive to flooding in the coming days and weeks.
Short flood news
The (government) Flood Relief Operations Center at Don Mueang Airport has advised residents of five provinces in central Thailand and Bangkok to transfer their property to dry ground.
Experts: Boats are especially needed
Medical supplies, water purifiers, food, mobile toilets and sleeping mats, but especially boats are desperately needed, says the Emergency Rapid Assessment Team, led by Singapore's David Chow. The team of experts, set up in 2008 after Cyclone Nargis in Burma, which then did not want to admit UN aid workers, took a look at the provinces of Suphan Buri and Pathum Thani in the past three days and visited the much-criticized government command center on…
“For heaven's sake, give us the facts…”
The Flood Relief Operations Center at Don Mueang Airport, set up by the government, has been hit from all sides. In any case, the population no longer has confidence in the command center, which has already twice sent the wrong messages to the world or provides too little information: this was recently shown by an Abac poll. Columnists and the editors-in-chief of the Bangkok Post also denounce the operations, or rather the fumbling of the government. Many residents of Bangkok…
Eastern Bangkok sacrificed in favor of central Bangkok
The Bangkok Post says that the Thai government has decided to use the eastern part of Bangkok as an overflow area. This would save the economic and densely populated center of Bangkok. Seven districts have been affected by flooding due to this new strategy: Sai Mai, Klong Sam Wa, Kannayao, Min Buri, Lat Krabang, Bang Khen and Nong Chok. The flood water will also flow through Chachoengsao and Samut Prakan and then end up in the Gulf…
Minor flood damage
Invariably every morning, before I go to work, I call my Thai correspondent in Thailand. She lives in Isaan in SiSaKet province, about half an hour from the town of Kanthalak. She follows the Thai news closely for me and daily we discuss issues such as economy, politics, crime, inflation, weather and other news.
Government struggles to tell the truth or lies
As the country experiences its worst flooding in decades, damaging businesses and millions of people struggling to make a living, the public seems to be kept in the dark by a government. Who believes that telling the truth could backfire like a boomerang. A recent Abac poll showed that the government relief center failed a credibility test. On a scale…
Thailand floods: an economic catastrophe (video)
New industrial sites are flooded every day. The damage to the Thai industry is enormous. The thriving Thai economy is now coming to a standstill because of the raging waters.
From Hua Hin I have had an uneasy feeling about the state of affairs in Thailand for weeks. I'm talking about the army's official 'call horns' that consistently contradict each other and the frankly amateurish approach to the disaster that is unfolding in the country. Prime Minister Yingluck turns out to be absolutely unfit for her task and the vague figures that the prime minister gathered around her on the advice of her brother appear to be more likely to be at home…
Thai Industry Floods (Video)
Despite frantic efforts by volunteers, another industrial site flooded today.
'Mai Pen Rai' more water can be added?
Last weekend we sat with bated breath and clenched buttocks waiting to see what was to come, in our beloved Thailand. Doomsday scenarios and dark clouds gathered over Bangkok. With images of Ayutthaya still fresh in their minds, everyone was prepared for the worst. As early as Sunday afternoon, Thai government officials and politicians rushed to report that Bangkok had survived the battle with the water. Yingluck was spotted at…
Nonthaburi residents frustrated with lax government
The residents of Nonthaburi are frustrated because the authorities and politicians have failed to prevent the Chao Praya River from overflowing and flooding their area. The flooding is entering its sixth day, but information is not provided by the government. 'Residents have to help themselves. We heard about the floods when someone set off a firework into the sky on Monday night as one of the dykes near Bang Bua Thong …
The people of Bangkok can go to sleep peacefully
Go to sleep peacefully: in other words, that is the message for the residents of Bangkok from Boonsanong Suchartpong, spokesman for the Irrigation Department. According to him, Bangkok can pump out 138 to 140 million cubic meters of water per day and 5000 officials work around the clock to prevent and control flooding. Boonsanong points out that the large dams such as Bhumibol, Sirikit, Ubonrat, Pasak and Kwae Noi are already discharging less water. The water level…
'Risks for flooding at Bangkok airports low'
Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports are unlikely to be flooded, said Somchai Sawasdeepon, acting president of Airports of Thailand, the manager of both airports. He bases his optimism on the raising of the flood wall around Suvarnabhumi to its original height of 3,5 meters five years ago, the capacity of a reservoir that now contains 5 million cubic meters of water (1 percent), two pumping stations with a capacity of 25 million cubic meters…
Pathum Thani hit by flood
The commercial heart of Pathum Thani is under 1 meter and in Muang district the water reached a height of 60 to 80 cm after the Chao Praya River burst its banks. Hardly hit are the residence of the provincial governor, the district office and the police station. Staff try to protect the buildings with sandbags. News in brief: At the Charoenpol market, the water is higher than 1 meter. Many bridges in the…
Car production will stagnate for another week
Toyota and Honda have extended their production halts into next week due to a shortage of parts from manufacturers in flooded industrial sites. Honda's motorcycle factory on Lat Krabang Industrial Estate closed on Wednesday to take measures against flooding. On Monday, the company will decide whether to extend the stop. Japan's Chamber of Commerce (JCC) in Bangkok is urging the government to end …