A flood of mixed messages and bumbling

Loading docks on the opposite side of the river

I have been using the landing dock opposite us on the Chao Praya as a measure for the water height. When we moved here 4 month ago the river was about 1 metre lower than it was today at approx. 5:30pm, the water has now run over the landing dock and in true Thai fashion...............the work of loading ships continues. It was a few minutes after I noticed this loud firework like bangs went off just down the river. My wife informed me (she had watched the news) this was an evacuation sign. Whilst watching the evacuation flares and rising river we noticed the car park about 150 metres away from the river was slowing filling up with water, some of the street dogs noticed and started barking at the water.............without any effect.

Water rising in the Chinese Temple car park

Looking forlornly at the river a family of 8 people stood motionless looking at their house, a very shanty shack on the waters edge. They had no doubt been waiting for the moment and seemed a bit dulled that it had finally come. That was the scene a family watching their house slowly filling up and evacuation flares about 1/2 a km downstream and then..........................The sky opened up and it rained huge drops of water down hard and fast, as if these poor people needed more discomfort. We could only imagine what it could be like not to be as safe as we were and to be part way though trying to evacuate and be caught in such rain.

The lower lying lawns show the river rising

As for food and supplies. In our local area we have been unable to find any bottled water for nearly 2 weeks now. 711 is very empty and not receiving deliveries. The Family Mart is doing a booming trade as soon as a delivery arrives it is sold within an hour, we haven't eggs in there for many days now too. The local fresh market have increased their prices by over 100% in some cases. For example a kg of coriander sold for 80-100THB a few weeks ago and now sells at 200 THB. We managed to buy chicken and the price increase was relatively small for us going from 60 THB per kg to 80 THB per kg..............but others there to buy were obviously harder hit by the increases.


Media reports are less than optimistic;


http://www.nationmultimedia.com In Bangkok's most critical day to date, run-off water approaching the Don Mueang Airport yesterday forced airlines to suspend their services and threatened the headquarters of the government's Flood Relief Operations Centre (FROC), which decided however not to switch location.
Low-cost carrier Nok Air cancelled flights to and from Don Mueang from noon for safety reasons. Its flights from foreign destinations were diverted to Suvarnabhumi Airport.


http://www.bangkokpost.com Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra warned Bangkok residents in all areas last night to brace for flooding after advancing runoff from the north of Bangkok surged into Don Mueang airport yesterday. The prime minister conceded existing floodwalls and water embankments might not be able to withstand the massive inundation and said there was a strong chance the flood will penetrate central and inner zones of the capital.



http://www.bloomberg.com “Water will enter Bangkok from Rangsit, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani,” Pracha Promnog, head of the government’s Flood Relief Operations Command, said today, referring to areas to the city’s north and west. “Water will flow into Bangkok, which is a low-lying area, and the government isn’t sure how much the city’s drainage system can handle.” The Chao Phraya river, whose banks are lined with hotels including the Oriental, the Peninsula and the Shangri-La, overflowed its banks in some areas after water levels reached a record of 2.30 meters (7.5 feet) above sea level yesterday, exceeding the 2.27-meter peak reached in 1995, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said. Bangkok has an average elevation of less than 2 meters above sea level.





http://www.nationmultimedia.com "The Chao Phraya River's water level in Bangkok will likely rise to 2.6 metres [above normal sea level] over the coming weekend. It's going to be higher than the embankment," Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said yesterday.
Sukhumband said the height of the permanent embankment along most parts of the Chao Phraya River stretch in Bangkok is now 2.5 metres. Some sandbags are being placed on top of the embankment to protect the capital from overflowing, but there is not enough time for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to construct the extra height needed along the 75.7km stretch.



http://www.nationmultimedia.com In order to protect the capital from floods caused by high tide over the next two days, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has been advised further strengthen the sandbag embankments along the Chao Phraya River.
"Residential areas along the Chao Phraya River are most at risk if the level of the sea rises," Royol Chitradon, director of the Hydro Informatics Division of the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute, said.
Royol is part of the committee set up by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to deal with the flooding situation.