Rain and flooding in Thailand (video)
The monsoon season in combination with the typhoon season has wreaked havoc in Asia. After Korea and Japan, the southern Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, it is now Thailand's turn. The floods in the central part of Thailand are the worst in half a century.
Flooding outlying areas of Bangkok (video)
The floods in Thailand are increasingly affecting the outskirts of the capital Bangkok. According to the authorities, the water there will be at its highest in the coming days.
The authorities continue to bicker
The chorus of bickering authorities over who the population should listen to when flood warnings are issued was also joined by the Interior Ministry and Justice Minister Pracha on Friday. A day earlier, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said "Listen to me and only me" after Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi issued a false alarm from the command center on Don Mueang. On Thursday, Minister Plodprasop told residents in northern Bangkok and Pathum…
Throw them in the bin, these parasites
Bangkok Post is strict today. 'Jail these parasites', the newspaper writes in its editorial. Those parasites are traders who think they can profit from the floods by raising their prices. The products most at risk are bottled drinking water, various food products such as instant noodles, materials for the construction of flood walls, such as stones, and of course sandbags that seem to increase in price every day. The cost of transportation across…
Living with floods (video)
Residents of Nakhon Sawan province are struggling without electricity and water supplies as the flood disaster continues.
Thursday will be an exciting day for west and east Bangkok
Thursday will be an exciting day for the residents on the west and east side of Bangkok because water from the north is diverted to the sea via that route. Residents of tambon Ban Bor in Samut Sakhon province will have to deal with this. Through the Sunak Hon channel, a connection between the rivers Ta Chin and Mae Khlong, water from the Mae Khlong is discharged to the sea. All residents are preparing for flooding. 'What worries us...
The fifty district offices in Bangkok have to prepare for evacuations because the flood wall 15 km north of the capital, made up of 200.000 sandbags, cannot hold back the water if it continues to rise. This instruction was given by Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra after he inspected the 5 km long and 1,5 m high embankment. 'If the water keeps rising, I am not sure if it can prevent flooding. If not, we cannot save Don Mueang. All zones…
'No natural disaster; reservoirs filled with water for too long'
The current heavy floods are not a natural disaster, says Smith Dharmasajorana. His explanation is as shocking as it is plausible: the managers of the large reservoirs have held water for far too long for fear that they would run out of water during the dry season. Now they have to discharge huge amounts of water at the same time and combined with the rains, this results in all kinds of misery, from Nakhon Sawan to Ayutthaya. Smith should know, as he is a former director general of…
In Bangkok they wait for the calf to drown
Are the authorities only now realizing that water flows from north to south in Thailand? It seems as if the Bangkok city council only ordered the dredging of seven canals in two districts on Tuesday. Also only yesterday a start was made with closing three 'holes' in the protection of Bangkok on the north side. And then there are the many sewers, drainages and canals that need to be cleaned urgently…
Nakhon Sawan licks his wounds after dike breach
Downtown Nakhon Sawan has turned into a quagmire after the city experienced its worst flooding since 1995 on Monday. The Ping River made a hole in the levee, after which an enormous amount of water flowed up the Pak Nam Pho market and beyond. Thousands of residents had to leave home and hearth and were directed to dry land. Yesterday the newspaper reported that provincial employees and soldiers tried in vain to close the gap, today the newspaper writes that municipal workers …
Ford and Honda halt production due to flooding
Ford Motor has suspended production in Rayong for 48 hours as parts suppliers in Ayutthaya have been hit by the floods. The factory in Rayong is not affected by the water. The factory has a capacity of 250.000 vehicles per year. Ford dealers in the country, about 100 in all, are operating normally. The production stop is used to make an inventory and to assess continuity. It will depend on the results whether the factory will …
Location Bangkok: Don't look into the camera!
Last year at this time I wrote a message about the floods that plague Thailand every year, at the end of the rainy season. This year it is all much more serious than in previous years. Normally the provinces in the flat central part of the country are the victims, as it is the basin of many rivers, but this year also a large part of the 12 million inhabitants capital Bangkok, the cigar. …
Bangkok ill-prepared for flood
There are three 'holes' in the protection of Bangkok against water from the North and they must be closed quickly. In Phatum Thani (north of Bangkok) a 10-kilometre sandbag embankment is being constructed, the flood barrier along Rangsit Khlong 5 (also on the north side of Bangkok) is being constructed from 1,5 million sandbags and behind the Mahidol University campus in Taling Chan comes number 3. The three flood walls have to drain the water through the …
Damage calculations for floods in Thailand vary considerably
Estimates of flood damage vary widely. The most pessimistic is the National Economic and Social Development Board: 90 billion baht or 0,9 percent of gross domestic product. The agricultural sector suffers 40 billion baht damage, the industry 48 billion baht. The damage in the province of Nakhon Sawan, which was flooded on Monday, is not yet included and Bangkok is not flooded in this calculation. The NESDB assumes that the factories will be closed for 2 months…
Thailand's worst floods in decades (video)
Thailand is hit hard by the worst floods in 50 years.
Flooding in Thailand – message from the Dutch embassy
In this article the text of an email sent today by the Dutch embassy in Bangkok. The editors of Thailandblog have posted this message in full.
TAT: Tourists need not worry
The Tourism Authority of Thailand reiterates today that there are no barriers for tourists in Thailand or who want to travel to Thailand. Although the situation in Central, North and Northeast Thailand is serious, there are no problems for tourists. In the south of Thailand (Phuket, Krabi, Koh Samui and Koh Chang) nothing is wrong and tourists can enjoy a well-deserved holiday. Virtually all major tourist destinations such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang…