The Floods of 2011

[hhfarang]

This is going to affect the price of everything from food to electronics for a while here.



http://www.nationmultimedia.com/busines ... 67951.html

[Aussie Mark]

At the airport today and no dramas re flying and only took 3 hours from Hua Hin

[Name Taken]

Dredging the rivers will help but should have been done every year, not just in panic when the brown stuff hits the fan, but I guess forward thinking like this is not indicative of the culture, so shouldn't be expected....sadly.

And as for motorboats using their propellers in this fashion in order to facilitate the desired ends described.......give me a break.....

Yeah forward thinking is not one of the thai's strong points, they just have a 'live for today, don't worry there's no tomorrow' attitude. It is sad.

[MrPlum]

Sara Buri to HH. Anyone know this route and if it is clear?

[hhfarang]

I read where Saraburi was flooded badly (like Ayudhya) a couple of days ago, but that's all I can tell you. My wife is supposed to leave from her village in Issan on a bus to come home today and I've been trying to reach here about every ten minutes and seems that all the phone lines are tied up as well.

I also read where the Northern Bus terminal was inundated by thousands of factory workers who are temporarily out of work and a place to live trying to get back to their family homes so I wanted to tell her to wait until next week, but cannot reach her.

[STEVE G]

Sara Buri to HH. Anyone know this route and if it is clear?

I know that the route that I normally take on Highway One was blocked around the Wang Noi and Bang Pa In areas but I believe that there are diversions in place although I can imagine they're pretty congested as it's a very busy route.

[Spitfire]

It looks like Bangkok's moment of reckoning is coming in the next couple of days. They appear to be trying to decide which part of BBK to 'sacrifice' in order to save the rest, although they are saying in the report below they will probably send the extra water to be released from the dam sluice gates soon through the eastern side of BBK. They seem to be backing away from this 'everything will be OK' stance and are now saying that they can't hold back the water forever and BBK is impossible to protect properly. Well, BBK is only 2 meters above sea-level, hence the 'Venice of the East' name.

Sad news too about that Navanakorn Industrial Estate going under a few days ago, 250 factories and 200,000 works, lots of people are going to be without work and money for at least 4-6 months after this and it may well alter international investment location opinions in the future, not good all round.

My guess is that they will go all-out to save central BBK and hope the water flows round it someway/somehow. It could also be that no-one knows really what's going to happen as there seems to be some dithering on strategy and mixed messages have been sent out, probably in an effort to forestall wide-scale panic.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15381227

This flooding disaster will have very wide-ranging impacts on the country in lots of ways.

[hhfarang]

I finally got through to my wife and she had talked to the bus company (Issan to northern bus terminal) and the van company (northern bus terminal to Hua Hin) and they said it was a no go for at least the next three days, so she's stuck up there for the time being.

[Bamboo Grove]

According to an old Chinese legend, more than 4000 years ago Yu the Great solved the flooding problems in China by building canals. I just wonder if it would, with present engineering skills, to build canals from Chao Phraya river and its tributaries to areas which suffer from lack of water? Terry?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_the_Great

[PeteC]

According to an old Chinese legend, more than 4000 years ago Yu the Great solved the flooding problems in China by building canals. I just wonder if it would, with present engineering skills, to build canals from Chao Phraya river and its tributaries to areas which suffer from lack of water? Terry?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_the_Great

The papers published a week ago that Thaksin has come up with a similar idea. The cost would be in the vicinity of 400 billion Baht. No idea if his sister will try to implement it. It is a reasonable idea though, except for the cost. Pete

[Bamboo Grove]

editing my own text

I just wonder if it would, with present engineering skills, to build

Should of course be, I just wonder if it would be possible, .....

[PeteC]

I don't see why not. The engineering is there and many places have built very long canals and aqueducts. One that comes to mind is in California all the way from the Sierra Nevada mountains in the north to LA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Aqueduct

ca.gif (28.39 KiB) Viewed 805 times

Of course the big question is of they would ask for foreign help and expertise.

I think Thaksin's idea was not necessarily from the Chao Praya but from the three rivers that converge at Nakansawan that make up the Chao Praya. Pete

[Bamboo Grove]

The areas suffering most from drought are the Isan provinces. The problem is that there are mountain ranges in between the Chao Phraya and its tributaries and Isan. I don't know whether the Mekong and Mun rivers are flooding as well, surely not as much and not as often as Chao Phraya, so that the water could be diverted from them.

Naturally Prachuapkhirikhan could use more water. This would mean that canals should be built from Chao Phraya to Tha Chin and then to Mae Klong, Petchburi river and then further southwards. Plenty of Kanchanaburi is quite arid as well.

[Lung Per]

Any news about the road from Aranyapathet to Suvanabhumi??

[PeteC]

This morning's story with photos. Pete

EDIT: Do those foreigners making toilets out of chairs have a work permit? I bet some immigration A Hole will bring that subject up sooner or later.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2 ... d-to-brace