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  • Thai Floods

    More flood mayhem on the way
    Discharges from Tak threaten lower provinces

    Published: 6/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
    Newspaper section: News

    http://www.bangkokpost.com/news....the-way

    Increased water discharges from the Bhumibol Dam in Tak have threatened to add flood woes to provinces downstream, including Ayutthaya where a large number of industrial factories have been inundated since Tuesday.

    Overflows from the Noi, Chao Phraya, Pasak and Lop Buri rivers as well as floodwater from fields in Lop Buri province hit larger areas of Ayutthaya yesterday.

    Flooding expanded in all the province's 16 districts and 14 of them were heavily hit. Some of them are isolated as their roads are impassable.

    They include Ban Phraek, Maha Rat, Tha Rua and Phak Hai districts. People in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya and Nakhon Luang districts of Ayutthaya started to suffer from severe flooding yesterday.

    See also:

    Sluice gate closure 'not Banharn order'

    Royal project farm inundated

    In first estimate, state puts flooding damage at B30bn

    Floodwater broke through dykes at Saha Rattana Nakorn Industrial Estate in tambon Bang Phrakhru of Nakhon Luang district late on Tuesday night and inundated 43 medium and large-scale factories, most of which belong to Japanese companies.

    Machines and goods in most of the plants are under water as the water surge was too sudden for factory owners to move them to safe places.

    Authorities yesterday gave conflicting figures about the damage caused to Ayutthaya by the floods.

    While Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong put the damage cost to the province since July at 20-30 billion baht, Public Health Minister and Ayutthaya MP Witthaya Buranasiri estimated the damage to the industrial estate as well as urban and commercial areas in Ayutthaya at at least 100 billion baht.

    Yesterday, the water level in many areas including historical sites in the province was 2-3m deep.

    Floodwater also covered the outbound lanes of Rojana Road from a roundabout to Wat Phrayat intersection and was expanding yesterday. The discharge rate at the Bhumibol Dam in Tak province has risen from 60 million cubic metres to 100 million cu m of water per day. The flow runs at about 1,200 cu m per second.

    The increasing discharge is meant to save the dam. The extra volume of water has worsened the flood situation downstream.

    A larger volume of water will also be released from Sirikit Dam in Uttaradit province because water influxes are about to fill its reservoir.

    Tak governor Samart Loifa said the Bhumibol Dam received about 300 million cu m of water every day. The intake is historically high and exceeds the capacity of the dam.

    The water released through the dam's spillway will raise the level of the Ping River by 1m and riverside communities in Sam Ngao, Ban Tak, Muang Tak and Wang Chao districts of Tak as well as those in Kamphaeng Phet province would be flooded. "The amount of water becomes critically high and the Bhumibol Dam must speed up discharges to cope with more incoming water. Water from the dam adjoins water from the Wang River from Lampang province. It overflows to houses and destroys dykes. Provincial authorities have warned people living near the river in Sam Ngao, Ban Tak, Muang Tak and Wang Chao districts to prepare to cope with flooding immediately," the Tak governor said.

    Phranai Suwannarat, acting permanent secretary for interior and director of the disaster relief centre, convened an urgent meeting with officials.

    He said water from the Bhumibol Dam would reach Nakhon Sawan province in two days and ordered officials to check flood walls in risk areas as floodwater levels should rise by at least 30cm.

    The Irrigation Department confirmed water from the Bhumibol Dam in the Ping River and rising water from its tributary, the Wang River, that adjoins it in Tak province would cause floods in Tak, Kamphaeng Phet and Nakhon Sawan. The flow rate of the Chao Phraya River which receives water from the Ping River increased to 5,000-5,500 cu m per second yesterday.

    Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi yesterday urged boat owners who live along the Chao Phraya River to use their boats to help propel water from the river into the sea.

    He suggested the effort should be intensified in 10 days before the next high tide on Oct 17 and 18. The minister promised the government would pay for fuel of the boats. He suggested boat owners contact all government agencies to report information about their boats and seek the fuel payment.

    Such requests can also be filed via his phone number 08 1496 6644 around the clock.

    Sanya Cheenimit, the City Hall's director of the Drainage and Sewerage Department, said the incoming water would compound flood situations in Nakhon Sawan, Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi but remaining water that passed those provinces would not overflow Bangkok's flood walls which are 2.5m high.

    He assured the floods would not reach inner Bangkok.


    MANY comments at the links

    SONY Camera factory under water
    Honda car plant under water

    Ayutthaya-based Saha Rattana Nakorn Industrial Estate is inundated by overflow from the Chao Phraya River, leaving 43 factories damaged, most of them Japanese ventures. NATTHATITI AMPAIWAN
    Attached Files

  • #2
    Thai floods halt WD hard disk fabs
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10/12/wd_thai_floods/
    Water and high-tech factories don't mix well

    By Chris Mellor €¢ Posted in Storage, 12th October 2011 14:41 GMT

    Western Digital has temporarily suspended disk drive-related production in its Thailand sites close to Bangkok due to severe flooding.

    Flooding in Thailand is sparking transportation and utility infrastructure headaches with some supply facilities and peoples' homes inundated.

    WD has some 37,000 employees in its Thai facilities and they are all safe. These employees helped WD ship around 54 million hard disk drives from its plants in Thailand and Malaysia in the quarter, which finished on 1 July, 2011, with about 32.5 million coming from Thailand.

    The company expects supply of disk drives in this quarter to be constrained because of the flooding and is doing its best to work around the problems with its suppliers. The production facilities are operational but production has stopped to enable the facilities to be protected against rising water.

    WD says the situation is pretty fast-moving and conditions in Thailand may well change. ®

    Comment


    • #3
      Satellite pictures of the floods

      http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Nat...w.php?id=76110

      Thailand۪s Chao Phraya River forms at the confluence of smaller rivers near Nakhon Sawan, and flows past Bangkok to the Gulf of Thailand. On October 11, 2011, flood walls designed to contain the river collapsed in downtown Nakhon Sawan, the Bangkok Post reported, leaving the city looking like a lake. As rivers overflowed in Thailand, the T̫nl̩ Sab (Tonle Sap) and the Mekong River remained swollen in neighboring Cambodia.

      The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA€™s Terra satellite captured these images on October 11, 2011 (top), and October 8, 2010 (bottom). These images use a combination of visible and infrared light to better distinguish between water and land. Vegetation is green, and clouds are pale blue-green. Water is dark blue.

      In 2011, water rests on floodplains between Phitsanulok and Nakhon Sawan. Meanwhile, Tônlé Sab has spread well beyond its boundaries from 2010.

      On October 11, 2011, CNN reported that an above-average monsoon season in Thailand and Cambodia had killed more than 450 people, and further flooding threatened to inundate the city of Bangkok.

      References
      Brackenridge, G.R. (2011, October 11). The Flood Observatory. University of Colorado-Boulder. Accessed October 11, 2011.
      Bangkok Post. (2011, October 10). Losing the battle against the river. Accessed October 11, 2011.
      CNN. (2011, October 11). Thailand flooding leaves hundreds dead, threatens capital. Accessed October 12, 2011.

      NASA images courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.

      Instrument:
      Terra - MODIS

      Comment


      • #4
        Sunday 16 Oct
        BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) €” The government expressed confidence Sunday that Bangkok will escape Thailand's worst flooding in decades, as the capital's elaborate barriers held strong and floodwaters receded from submerged plains to the north.

        Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut said the largest mass of runoff water flowing southward had passed through Bangkok's Chao Phraya river and into the Gulf of Thailand, and that the river's levels would rise no higher. He stopped short of saying the threat to Bangkok had passed completely.

        The capital is being shielded by an elaborate system of flood walls, canals, dikes and underground tunnels. But if any of the defenses fail, floodwaters could begin seeping into the city of 9 million people.

        "People have faith these walls will work," a saffron-robed monk named Pichitchai said as he peaked over stacks of sandbags added in recent days to help protect a Buddhist temple along a canal in northwestern Bangkok. The 36-year-old uses only one name.

        The agriculture minister said floodwaters in the provinces of Singburi, Angthong and hard-hit Ayutthaya have begun to recede, signaling that the pressure on the capital could ease.

        "I can confirm that the highest possible level of water has already subsided," Theera told reporters. "The water level in the Chao Phraya will not be higher than the barriers."

        Relentless monsoon rains that began inundating the country in late July have affected two-thirds of the country, drowning agricultural land, swamping hundreds of factories and swallowing low-lying villages along the way.

        Nearly 300 people have been killed so far, while more than 200 major highways and roads have been shut along with the main rail lines to the north. The government says property damage and losses could reach $3 billion dollars. The most affected provinces are just north of Bangkok, including Ayutthaya, which is home to a series of ancient and treasured stone temples. Water there and in other towns has risen in some places six-feet-high (two-meters-high), forcing thousands of people to abandon their homes.

        Despite widespread fears that disaster could touch Bangkok, the giant city has so far been mostly untouched.

        Speaking late Saturday, Bangkok Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra said he was worried about barriers on the northwest side of the capital, saying they were not as strong as in other parts of Bangkok and water could flood around them and into the city from the west. But on Sunday, he said the situation was still under control.

        An Associated Press team that traveled to that area Sunday found no serious flooding in the district bordering on neighboring Nonthaburi and Nokhon Pathom provinces. Canals were not overflowing and, although some residents were still reinforcing sandbag walls, few were worried.

        Over the last few days, government officials have voiced increasing confidence the capital would survive without major damage. On Sunday, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra echoed those sentiments again, saying "I believe Bangkok will be safe."

        Yingluck spoke just after presiding over a ceremony in which an armada of more than 1,000 small boats stationed in dozens of spots on the Chao Phraya turned on their engines in an effort to help propel water down the river. It wasn't immediately clearly what impact the effort would have.

        ___

        Associated Press writers Grant Peck and Sinfah Tunsarawuth contributed to this report.

        Comment


        • #5
          I just bought the very last bottles of water from my local 7/11 on Sukhumvit...

          Comment


          • #6
            Soi 2 is dry as a bone where i am at this time. Today and tomorrow are the critical days and after that Oct 27 is another tester as its the highest tide of the year according to BKK Post. I wont be here for that day thats for sure as IMO if the shit hits the fan its then ( thats was in the Souch China Post as well and the reporter threw some sticks up into the air for confirmation... thats good enough for me))

            Comment


            • #7
              Thai flooding: Key business park Navanakorn evacuated
              Workers at the Navanakorn industrial zone in Pathum Thani province reinforce flood barriers on 17 October 2011 Workers at the Navanakorn industrial park have been helping to reinforce flood barriers
              Continue reading the main story
              http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15331914

              map at the link

                 Thailand floods: Eyewitness account
                 In pictures: Floods near Bangkok
                 Thailand floods hinder production

              One of Thailand's oldest and largest industrial estates has been evacuated after flood waters breached its recently-fortified defences.

              It comes as officials say most of Bangkok appears to have escaped the flooding, although some parts of the capital are still under threat.

              Water began seeping into Navanakorn industrial estate in Pathum Thani, 45km (30 miles) from Bangkok, on Monday.

              Navanakorn houses some 250 factories, employing up to 200,000 people.

              As many as 1,000 soldiers and factory workers worked over the weekend, filling sandbags, reinforcing dykes and repairing holes.

              Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Sunday had expressed optimism that Navanakorn would be spared, but admitted on Monday their efforts had failed.

              "I feel so sorry that water has entered because we've been trying to prevent the industrial estate from flooding for quite a while," she was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying.

              She said the barriers had been breached by a combination of heavy rain over the weekend, high tide levels as well as large amounts of water running-off from the flood-hit north of the country.

              Navanakorn is not the only industrial estate to have been affected. Five industrial estates in the badly-flooded province of Ayutthaya have been damaged, including Factory Land, which is reported to be under 1.5m (5ft) of floodwater.

              Many of these industrial estates house both local and international factories and businesses - a large number of which make electronic components and car parts.

              A number of firms - including Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda - have been forced to suspend production because of damage to facilities or disruption to local supply chains.

              The government predicts costs to the economy could total more than $3bn (£1.8bn).

              Ms Yingluck is to meet with industry representatives to discuss how best to help flood-hit companies, the Bangkok Post reports.
              Danger not over

              Bangkok itself was breathing a bit easier on Monday, having been on a state of alert over the last few days amid fears it would be hit by the combination of run-off waters, high tides and heavy rain.

              Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut said on Sunday there were "good signs" that water levels on the city's key Chao Phraya river would rise no higher.

              "A large amount of water from the north flowed past Bangkok to the Gulf of Thailand yesterday," Mr Theera said.

              However, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra warned on Monday that the danger was not over, particularly for the Sai Mai district. He said there were reports that flood defences in many areas had been breached, and Khlong Sam Wa district might be affected, the Bangkok Post reports.

              And the story is much worse for areas north of Bangkok, which have borne much of the brunt of the flooding.

              The BBC's Rachel Harvey has flown over the affected region and says that, for as far as the eye can see, the area is waterlogged. Only the tops of trees and the roofs of factories and houses can be seen above the water.

              The area is going to be under water for many weeks and those who have lost their homes and livelihoods will need help for a long time to come, she says.

              More than 300 people have now lost their live since the floods which began in late July, due to heavy monsoon rains.

              Neighbouring Cambodia has also been hit hard, with the loss of almost 250 people and 17 out of 23 provinces affected.
              Attached Files

              Comment


              • #8
                Its not quite over yet in BKK. I noticed that today the supposed flood wall/barrier broke down near Don Muang Airport ( the old airport) and flooded some Industrial area that had been decaled safe the previous day .. also some shit not far from the new one as well although the new airport is better protected by design when it was built with a surround wall of some kind

                Pattaya is busier now i hear as many are heading down there to escape a possible deluge of H20 .

                In the 20 odd years i been coming here around once a year there is some kind of problem...Mil Coup, Airport snowed in or Volcanic ash , bombs, red shirts, Tsunami, fire, and now flood... im usually caught up in it somewhere.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Stop visiting Thailand then, you fooking jinx.
                  A friend in need is a f**king pest

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    ha ha , ive used up 8 lives at the last count...

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      So what's happening to all the stray critters like Soi dogs, Scorpions, snakes, rats, cockroaches??

                      20 October 2011 Last updated at 07:10 GMT
                      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15381227

                        Thailand flooding: Parts of Bangkok 'to be hit'
                      A boat sails past a flooded temple just outside Bangkok on 20 October 2011 Floodwaters caused by weeks of heavy rain have built up to the north of the Thai capital
                      Continue reading the main story
                      Related Stories

                         Sony launches hit by Thai floods
                         Bangkok districts on flood alert
                         In pictures: Thai floods near Bangkok

                      The Thai government says it will be impossible to protect all of the capital from flooding because of a build-up of water to the north.

                      Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said water would have to be allowed to flow through parts of Bangkok out to sea.

                      Describing the flooding as a "national crisis", she said officials were doing all they could to solve the problem.

                      On Wednesday officials urged residents in seven Bangkok districts to prepare for possible flooding.

                      Central Bangkok is protected by flood barriers which have been reinforced by troops in recent days.

                      But the run-off from severe flooding in central parts of the country has built up to the north of the capital, and several northern suburbs are already underwater.
                      'Overwhelming'

                      "We cannot block the water forever," Ms Yingluck said. "We need areas that water can be drained through so water can flow out to the sea."

                      The problems have been exacerbated by high tides, forcing water back up swollen rivers.

                      "Flood waters are coming from every direction and we cannot control them because it's a huge amount of water," the prime minister said.

                      "This problem is very overwhelming. It's a national crisis so I hope to get cooperation from everybody."

                      Ms Yingluck said the government would work out which parts of the city to send the floodwaters through. The Bangkok Post reported that eastern districts were most likely to be hit.

                      The BBC's Rachel Harvey, in Bangkok, says that the authorities are now having to decide which parts of the nation's capital should be sacrificed in order to protect others.

                      The floods - Thailand's worst in decades - have been triggered by heavy monsoon rain that begin in July.

                      At least 320 people have been killed over the three-month period, with northern and central areas badly affected in the early stages.

                      About a third of all provinces are still affected and manufacturing has been hit because a several large industrial estates have been forced to close.
                      Attached Files

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Thailand flooding: Bangkok districts put on alert
                        Flood barricade in Thailand

                        The BBC's Rachel Harvey said seven districts of Bangkok are on alert
                        http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15368177

                        In pictures: Thai floods near Bangkok
                        Thailand floods: Eyewitness account
                        Thailand floods hinder production

                        Residents of seven districts of Bangkok have been told to move valuables to higher ground and be ready to evacuate, as flooding which has swamped northern Thailand approaches the capital.

                        More than 300 people have been killed in the worst flooding to hit the country in decades.

                        The army and volunteers are working to shore up flood defences in Bangkok but there are fears barriers will not hold.

                        Officials said earlier this week that the capital would be safe.

                        The government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been criticised for giving what many in Thailand say has been unclear or conflicting information about the disaster.

                        At a news briefing on Wednesday, Ms Yingluck - who came to power in August with relatively little political experience - said her government had "done everything to the best of our ability" and asked for support from the public and media.

                        "I have left no stone unturned in this crisis but I cannot solve it alone," she said.

                        "We are facing the most severe flooding ever. We need encouragement, support and co-operation from all sectors and from all the people as well."

                        She urged people to "set aside politics" and work together to restore morale, and insisted the government was not concealing any information from the public.
                        'Be prepared'

                        The northern Thai provinces of Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Nakhon Sawan have already been devastated by flooding.

                        The Bangkok districts now on alert are Sai Mai, Khlong Sam Wa, Bang Khen, Nong Jok, Min Buri, Lat Krabang and Kan Na Yao, all to the north of the capital.

                        The Thai air force has moved some of its planes from Don Muang international airport, by Sai Mai district, as a precaution.
                        Buddhist monks help fill sandbags in Pathum Thani, Bangkok (19 Oct 2011) Buddhist monks have joined efforts to fill sandbags and shore up flood defences

                        Bangkok is criss-crossed by small waterways, and the warning came after several key sluice gates were opened to allow water to flow into the major Rangsit canal, which runs from the Chao Phraya river through Patum Thani.

                        Some 1.2bn cubic metres of water was expected to enter the Rangsit canal, said Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra.

                        "So, we need to tell the people to get prepared," Mr Sukhumbhand said.

                        He told residents not to panic, but to move their belongings to upper floors and unplug electrical appliances - an evacuation plan has been put place and 156 emergency shelters set up, he said.

                        Thai soldiers and civilians have been working frantically to shore up sandbag defences but the pressure of water has burst through the barricades in places.

                        Officials say another two million sandbags will be needed over the next few days.

                        "This point is critical. If the water rises higher than our flood barriers, which is going to be at 1.8-2m now, the water will flow into the Muang Ake area," said Soradaj Pyakarn, a military adviser.

                        Five industrial estates have been abandoned - putting tens of thousands of people temporarily out of work.

                        At least 315 people have been killed and tens of thousands left homeless in the floods, which have inundated two-thirds of the country since July. A third of Thai provinces remain under water, reports suggest.

                        "I think the government should work faster and make a quick decision," said one man in the capital, Nattapon Dachasawas. "This is the main gateway to Bangkok. They must do it quickly."

                        Analysts say the floods - which have hit the country's extensive manufacturing infrastructure - are likely to cut annual economic growth by more than one percentage point, but this could double if Bangkok is badly hit.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          yes it is a real tragedy for the people and the feeling of helplessness is awfull for every one , nature is a pretty powerfull beast and i hope that it at least the inner city will be saved... maybe 50-50 now

                          I talked to a few people in BKK this week and the problem is to know what really is going on...its a bit chaotic but understandably so

                          The best place for tourist to head for is Pattaya i suppose now and the 27th could be a real test as the highest tide of the year is on that day. One supposes that the BKK post website is the best place to update ones self .

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Sony & Nikon camera manufacturing plants are a write off

                            http://www.nationmultimedia.com/busines....51.html
                            Attached Files

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Honda Factory
                              http://www.nationmultimedia.com/busines....51.html

                              Heavy inundation in Ayutthaya will hit auto industry hard: Toyota exec; FTI calls for 25 per cent pay cut and delay in Bt300 minimum daily wage
                              Attached Files

                              Comment



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