The Floods of 2011

[lomuamart]

I came back from Khao Takieb by songthaew yesterday and there were three other people in it when it left. A farang/Thai couple and a single farang.
The couple were teachers from Nontaburi and whilst their house there had two floors and they'd moved their belongings upstairs, it was under 1.5 metres of water. The school had closed and they were here to try and find somewhere to rent for a month.
The single chap was also a teacher from BKK and whilst I don't know where the school is, his house was near Don Muang and he'd moved down here for the duration. I suppose that ties in with Steve G's comment about the old airport now being closed.
Meeting these three "refugees" sort of put the whole thing into perspective for me. The BKK teacher had already found somewhere to stay and hopefully I was able to give the couple some ideas on accommodation.

[Winkie]

For those in Bangkok (and maybe elsewhere) struggling to find bottled water, Ban Jak Gas Stations are (surprisingly) giving a free 1.5L bottle with every fill-up. Has worked twice this week, including this morning.

[MrPlum]

Family came through Bkk yesterday from Sara Buri. Took 9 hours for a 5 hour journey. Prathum Thani was flooded about 1 mtr near Khlong 4, cars were stopped. Khlong 5 was about 1ft, they managed to get onto the tollway. Khlong 6 was about 6" deep. Not sure what this means, I'm just relaying what I'm told. Small cars take a big risk.

Also have had enquiries from Bkk residents seeking short term rentals here.

[hhfarang]

Latest gatherings of flood news:

"Chao Phraya set to brim over"

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 68564.html

"Bangkok in 'crisis mode' as floods advance"

http://news.yahoo.com/thailand-declares ... 17719.html

"Bangkokians wait till last minute to evacuate"

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 68562.html

"PM Reveals Worse Case Scenario; Bkk Sees 10 CM to 1.5 Meters of Flooding"

http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.a ... ID=1049164

[hhfarang]

... and one more about how the flooding may affect the economics between Japan and Thailand for years to come:

"Foreign Investors Angry With Thailand's Flood Response"

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45009767/Foreign ... d_Response

[hhfarang]

We use the 6 liter bottles of water from Tesco, Singha, Nestle, or Minere. There seems to be no more of those in Hua Hin at the big shops, 7/11's or Thai mom and pop stores in my neighborhood. I was able to stock up with 1.5 liter bottles from a Thai shop in the neighborhood this morning. I went to the two nearest 7/11s and they have a lot of empty shelves and freezers. There were only a couple of bags of rice at one with a sign in Thai taped over the shelf (maybe a limit on how much one person can buy?)

We all may be eating only locally grown meat, fish, and produce for a while. I've heard of one restaurant closure due to lack of supplies. I wonder how many more will be forced to do this in the coming days.

Got this off a U.S. Dept. of Health web page in case anyone gets to the point of needing this information to drink local tap water... hope not!

Water purification

There are two primary ways to treat water: boiling and adding bleach. If tap water is unsafe because of water contamination (from floods, streams or lakes), boiling is the best method.

Cloudy water should be filtered before boiling or adding bleach.

Filter water using coffee filters, paper towels, cheese cloth or a cotton plug in a funnel.

Boiling:

Boiling is the safest way to purify water. Bring the water to a rolling boil for one minute. Let the water cool before drinking.

Purifying by adding liquid chlorine bleach:

If boiling is not possible, treat water by adding liquid household bleach, such as Clorox or Purex. Household bleach is typically between 5 percent and 6 percent chlorine. Avoid using bleaches that contain perfumes, dyes and other additives. Be sure to read the label.

Place the water (filtered, if necessary) in a clean container. Add the amount of bleach according to the table below.

Mix thoroughly and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes before using (60 minutes if the water is cloudy or very cold).

Treating Water with a 5-6 Percent Liquid Chlorine Bleach Solution:

Volume of Water to be Treated:
1 quart/1 liter - 3 drops
1/2 gallon/2 quarts/2 liters - 5 drops
1 gallon - 1/8 teaspoon
5 gallons - 1/2 teaspoon
10 gallons - 1 teaspoon

[PeteC]

....and another that shows the crap that is going on with these dimwits! Pete

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 68563.html

[Nereus]

It has been reported that the PM has stated that K.Ling is not better equipped to lead the fight against the floods.

[dtaai-maai]

With regard to the shortages, and water in particular, I wonder how much longer this will remain a problem?
It is, of course, a self-perpetuating problem to some extent. If everyone carried on as usual, there would probably be enough to go round until things return to normal, but when people start hearing about possible shortages, they stock up and create the very shortages they're worried about.

My university has delayed the start of the coming term (due next Monday) for two weeks, and that's here, near HH. I imagine most, if not all, others have done the same across the country. I can't see things being very much better so soon, but if there is a further delay it will have some serious knock-on effects for this academic year.

Upside: "Well, doctor, I've had to drink more beer so that we could save on water..."

I asked my gardening couple if they had water and they chuckled and said they'd drink rainwater as usual. 8 years here and I still feel like a newbie sometimes.

[richard]

Watched several hi-so's heading back to BK depleting a 711 of drinking water

[Bamboo Grove]

[Vital Spark]

DM's absolute right in his post, and BG's cartoon put the whole picture in perspective.

As you know we live in Nakhon Pathom province (Amphur Muang). For the past week or so our colleagues at work have been preparing for floods. They haven't arrived - nor will they. We're far enough away from the run off routes to be affected.

So, as a result of the scaremongering on TV our local Tesco Lotus is now devoid of water, noodles, canned fish, fish sauce, and sugar . One of my colleagues went to Tesco Lotus to stock up on water, and then drove to another town 20km west to get some. We have a water purifying plant on campus - you can still buy all you want there. But, no, let's all go to Tescos. Rice, eggs and noodles are still available in the small little dingy shops that everyone abandoned when Tescos came to town.

We went on a little tripette to Kanchanburi province last week. 'Don't go!' our friends pleaded with us, 'They're going to open the dam. You'll be swept away on your luxury floating raft...'. We went, and we survived. While we were there we took a trip up to the Srinakarin Dam, because dams are interesting, and we wanted to see how high the water actually was. It was by no means full - lot's of extra metres to go before any kind of danger.

Goodness knows what some of my colleagues are going to do with the endless packets of noodles, and bags of rice they've piled up in their bedrooms. Most of them never cook at home (or even have the facilities to do so), a nice donation to the local orphanage might be in order...

We've been told that we're being rather flippant about the whole issue. I just think that we're being realistic.

VS

PS: Nice little bonus: We've just been told that the university will delay the start of term for two weeks. Took them a while to think about it, but a sensible decision.

[PeteC]

[chopsticks]

UK Government updates travel advice for Bangkok :

"FCO advises against all but essential travel to the city of Bangkok and the twenty-six provinces in Thailand currently affected by widespread flooding"

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-ne ... =676348482

Sometimes travel insurance claims may be affected as a result of these official statements.

[PeteC]

The exodus to Hua Hin and other areas has begun. Pete

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/eco ... nd-pattaya