2011 Bangkok Flood - Aftermath

Well it's a good questing to if this should be called an aftermath at all. News has been reporting the sunny side of things. Bangkok is dry and it is true. All major shopping malls are now open and businesses are as usual. Heavy traffic is back on the streets, the signature of a normal working Bangkok. Water and food are back on the shelves. We live every day, drive pass once flooded streets as if nothing had happened. The only reminder, is the watermark left behind on walls by the dark water. The flood is over. But is it?

Truth is, it is not. My mates, some of them still could not go home, flood waters have not receded. In their minds, constant worry building up to stress, as one thinks about the resources needed to restore their flooded first floor to its former glory.


The water stayed in their village, but the news always reported only the good side, that here and there have been receding by 1 or 2 cm per day. 1 or 2 cm? I give credit to evaporation rather than irrigation. Irrigation all blocked, what is there to flow? I visited some folks in factories up north. I asked if they have experienced a flood like what Bangkok do now. They said oh yes they did. But water came fast, water came deep. And water also gone very fast and they are used to it. But in Bangkok - water came fast, water came deep. And water stayed because they don't want water to touch central business district.


Driving around, I assume that everywhere is dry now, but it is not. I had to drive against traffic because I drove on to an impassible section of flooded roads only passable by trucks. I did see a suspicious sign of some sort, but it was in Thai. I wonder, how many expats have experienced inconveniences like I do. This flood situation, all non Thai reading public have been excluded from all warning systems. Comon, at least hand draw a picture of farang driving his car dropping into water, that will at least give us some kind of indication.


A tip I will give is that to get to Saraburi, you can now take the Toll Way all the way till the end pass Future Park. But expect to be stuck on the Toll Way for a while because it exits down to damage road. And if you did take the Outer Ring Road, take note that the road surface have been heavily damaged by the flood. So, expect to experience very slow traffic too. It will take three to four hours to get to Saraburi or vice versa. It normally takes less than two.


I accidentally drove to some areas, witnessing full in the face what "neglected by the authorities" really means. See, as long as all the high profiles areas are kept dry at whatever cost, Bangkok when seen from the outside world successfully managed the flood and it is now over. All these other areas, no authorities were in sight to direct or warn traffic. Debris strewn all over, I was left to negotiate and try my luck across flooded plains, created my own traffic rules and drove in any directions I wanted.

Now people in power are busy with finding a scapegoat for the flooding (as reported in TV). Now some people have moved from poor to rich benefiting from corruption cases. The purchase of donation items are at very obvious inflated prices. Currently we can also see on TV those that did not get a share in the dirty cake bringing these cases to light. So many discomforting cases, you can read them all from the media websites. And we the working force, go through our everyday lives as per normal, ignoring these noises. And they the flooded victims for months, taking on actions by themselves. They organize mobs and activities, breaking down the flood barrier, closing important traffic routes and breaking the windshields on innocent public cars just trying to get through for a very delayed appointment. All these activities and the situation of misery going on now, in the presence of the so many new morale lifting songs about the flood released by famous local artist. "Thais will not neglect Thais" the lyrics of these songs, but the truth is the opposite.

Full photo sets here under The Flood 2011.

2011 Bangkok Flood - So Dumb

For some reasons or other, water seems to have a mind of her own going and not going where as had been predicted. This again, I believe due to the heavy intervention by man to control the water flow, only to result in more chaos, panic and nuisance. Shopping malls some so unlikely to be flooded, at Robinson Ratchada especially, had closed their parking lots because the frantic neighborhood had moved all their cars into the multi storey parking lots. The departmental store Tops in the basement, had reduced their inventory clearing out the bottom two level of shelves in anticipation of the speculated flooding. Consumers like me, driven into frustration.



For some reasons or other, the Big Bag project carried out to prevent Bangkok from flooding had backfired. It caused people north of the barrier to be soaked indefinitely. They watch news of inner Bangkok's water subsiding while stinky waters in their village crept higher. The authorities should had seen it coming, very short sighted all their short term plans. There have been several mobs activities reported and they had succeeded in breaking the silly idea of the bag at several spots. Water level in their villages finally subsiding and all these little efforts seemed to be working way better then what the government had planned. The most surprising twist is that, although the northern water is coming into town, the levels inner Bangkok have not been rising.


For some reasons or others, Samut Prakan, the last district to be hit by the flood remains dry till this day. I visited my customers there and they voiced "we have sucked our canals dry, preparing to receive the flood waters but we seemed to have waited forever". Some expert from Netherland had been engaged as a consultant to handle the flood in Bangkok. He was seen on TV doing inspections, he commented many. One of which was that the pumping stations were all under performing, if only there were more water for them to suck. The water remains at the northern Bangkok region and never reached these efficient machines. Then for some reasons or other, he was never seen on TV again. Therefore, I blog writer, solemnly decide to christen the Big Bag Project - The Big Joke.


We heard of the misuse of funds here and there, people have reduced donations to the organizations set up by the government. Donations to public TV channels poured in with increasing numbers and the resulting flood relief efforts seen more than what the government had done. Complains big time, the voices wrong side of The Big Joke barrier. Reported on newspapers, it seemed the authorities are waking up and realizing they should not be "keeping the patient ill". They must focus on not containing the water but to find a solution to drain the water away. My point of view, Bangkok do have a large network of canals for the purpose of drainage, but so many of them still remained dry. Cleary, something is not done correctly somewhere somehow.


Vibhavadi Rangsit Toll Way had turned into a new tourist attraction. Many people are touring the new Vibhavadi Rangsit River. We park all along the highway taking the pictures of our lifetime, including me of course. This toll way runs alongside Don Muang Airport, we could see the situation from high and dry, witness planes soaked in water and cars strewn around like plastic toys. This toll way have also turned into a massive elevated peeing ground. I took pictures, I also took in full breathes of dried urine everywhere I parked. Traffic police had removed the dividers along many locations of this toll way. A real convenience for people to make u-turns back into Bangkok without having to exit down into the flood below.



The peak of the flood we believe is over for Bangkok. This confidence could be felt by the increasing amount of traffic on roads. Driving is no longer a breeze like when the flood just started. However, the surroundings, poor souls the people are. Some areas have been speculated to flood till the new year. My mates some, had not gone back home for more than a month and longer still they will wait.



Water level had indeed be receding but at a very slow rate. Photographers by the hordes could be seen scouting the flooded plains on weekends before the water is finally gone from inner Bangkok. Inundated industrial estates in the north are now confident that they will start recovery efforts mid of December 2011. Leg and bikini line waxing saloons in Union Mall remaining closed resulted in an increasing number of Thai girls turning into gorillas. However, this week, some major malls have been reported re-opening their doors and some had set forth planned re-opening schedules.



The water is no longer crawling further into the heart of Bangkok. She is expected to take on the surrounding Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon, flow into the sea alongside and slowly drain away. Samut Sakon had been hit first but the flooding is gentle. Samut Prakan as mentioned remains dry. Strangely the water, she stopped her advances. Rama II she did not cross and the International airport she did not hit. She is so close to the sea and yet she will not jump. Will she rather drain herself slowly via the machineries and into the central canals, the main rivers? The pumps working mad, the efforts of man she ain't so glad.

Full photo sets here under The Flood 2011.

2011 Bangkok Flood - So Numb

Staring up your half submerged Prius will results in explosion of sparks, you will probably become part of the car's circuit and die in the process. Ok, maybe that won't happen, I am sure Toyota thought of it but lately, there are many victims of electrocution as the water sets in. Touch this get shorted, touch that get shorted. Stand around in water minding own business also get shorted, which is why the authorities are cutting the power to some selected estates.


If you don't die of electrocution just standing still doing safely nothing, you could be bitten by the recent escape of a bunch of poisonous Green Mamba snakes. Imported pets by some too-much-money-nothing-to-do owners, they are now floating around freely somewhere in our very big Bangkok. There is no vaccine in the whole of Thailand and this is so very consoling.


I was standing still composing a shot, people at a distance from me shouted "Don't stand still!!! Leeches in the water!!". Darn. I wish I had more leg hair, they offer at least some confusion to the leeches before it gets the meat.


Taxi drives, apparently they are a happy bunch now. The uncle said: "So good, I wish everyday Bangkok's traffic is like this. I can estimate my time from one place to another so accurately. Bangkok should remain this way."


Uncle was right, getting from one place to another had never been done in such record time before in my entire life here, as many people had escape the metro and moved to surrounding Rayong, Pattaya and Huahin. People who still needed to work had parked their cars permanently in offices, taking the public transport to and from work. Most of us, our homes are flooded. Getting in and out of the moo-barns means hopping on to military trucks on their rounds which are in place of the public buses. These huge green beasts they call GMCs will drop you off some convenient dry place where you can then continue your journey by other means.


Public bus services, they did not suspend. It's just that hopping on to one every time, the route is different for the very same bus number. As this place and that floods, they change their course according to situation without advance notice. But we are all fine with that. Many areas along the river floods as the sea tide rises opposing the deluge flowing downstream. Twice a day, they get wet, drains and then dries. Markets and tourist destination in Sanam Luang have orgasms twice a day. It's a nice place to experience the climax if one wants to experience the subtle flood just so to be part of it.


Flood danger indication level how to tell? Locals say:
"Level 1 alert which indicates possible flooding is when you begin to notice peddlers selling boots, life vest and plastic boats on dry streets."
"Level 2 danger will be indicated by the arrival of news crew. Water only at ankle level and meaning possible time to evacuate, so start packing."
"Level 3 means all too late - die. Military trucks arriving on site with platoons of sweaty soldiers. By this stage, water is at waist level."


So far the above mentioned had been much more reliable then the so many false alarms and warnings issued by the government. Increasing number of nasty comments from streets and offices. Flood situation seems deliberately extended because of stupidity. You sand bagged an area till it is flooded full as you slowly pumped water out a thousand times slower than it is being filled. As the water overflows the first barrier onto the second sand bagged region, the cycle repeats. Then onto the third, fourth and so on sections of defense, all so very slowly. We are not afraid of the flood, it's not the water that will kill you, it's the smell.


Imagine you have a toilet bowl at home with your discharge that does not drain. Hold it there for two good weeks and I rather break the toilet and let it drain. Well this is what has been happening with increasing frequency lately. Unhappy residents are getting good at destroying flood barriers. The government patching them back up again every now and then.


The Bangkok government has successfully turned the city into the biggest ammonia factory in the solar system. This is what happens when you place a puppet and a bunch of farm animals to manage the country. They put relatives and friend-friend into positions of power within the government and other important agencies, all without the proper background expertise and practical knowledge and thus the result today. "There is a big difference between understanding what to do in a flood and knowing what to do", one industrial estate owner commented on TV. I like him.


Previously, I had blogged that the highways had become a treasure trove for criminals. Now it has become an obstacle course for drivers. As reported on news, motorcycles, cars and trucks have been smashing into these stationary vehicles parked all over precariously along elevated roads. We have many pieces of cars to clean up nowadays. Going into that shopping mall and looking for a lot usually means staying in orbit for a good long while before finally locating one. Cars left by owners in malls had become a permanent feature of the building structure.


Some things did turn for the better. Instant noodles and water have been arriving back on the shelves. But they do not stay there for long. Bottled mineral water of strange brands we never seen are being sold. Eating out we were served "no brand no label" bottled water, very dubious indeed. People staying in western Bangkok bathed in strange smelling yellow water from the tap, but the situation have improved now that the issue at the waterworks had been rectified.


Water creeping slowly, 3 kilometers a day. Encroaching deeper and deeper into Bangkok, the death grip of a python. Extended the doom, the effects of all the rather questionable efforts. We are numb now, we are so very. The news so foul, we are so weary.

Full photo sets here under The Flood 2011.

Whatcha goin to do with Boat after 2011 Bangkok Flood?

This is worrisome.. I went for a meeting yesterday and my customer looked totally stressed out and tired. His office is underwater and his engineer stranded at some industrial estate far far away. He had invested THB 20,000 to get a boat and fitted it with an outboard to get his engineer out and also for everyday use during this period.

Asked: "You buy boat, ever think about what you gonna do with it after the flood is gone?"

Replied: "It can be used next year again when the flood is expected to be worse. In 2010 during the post rain season, his office was flooded to ankle level. This year 2011, up to his neck. Next year and beyond, with global warming increasing, expect worse." .. . . .

And just to update, petrol stations are now running out of petrol as the main storage depot is now a playground for fishes. Ciggy supplies had been cut, mini-marts ran out of stocks... so for us smokers, maybe it's a darn good time to attempt quitting.. ... .

Wait & Wait - 2011 Bangkok Flood

Now the question on anyone's mind here is not "when will the flood be over" but rather, "when will the bloody flood come???". The media had kept many of us in central Bangkok on our toes for two solid weeks. This has caused unnecessary panic which resulted in the shortage of food and drinking water in the supermarkets. The shortage in turned caused the stockpiled rations at home to be consumed. The circle completes itself with the over demand and undersupply of food and drinking water. Best of all, the government seemed to have overlooked this area. Profiteers now increased their price on whatever is left, from water to rice and exponentially on water gear especially. A life vest, normally left on the shelf to rot, went from TH 350 to THB 1,500. Stash of useless plastic boats that's more like a toy and that nobody buys went from THB 2,500 to THB 6,000. All as reported on TV.


Fear in the eyes of people interviewed on news now turned to impatience and anger. We are now saying "Let it come, just let it come please, we don't want to be on alert and stress forever. Why is the government interfering with the natural course of the water!!". Some would be nagging "Block block block then it breaks, causing destructive currents. Block block block and then the water stays in the village, stagnate and now we have turned suburbs successfully into lakes of sewage!!".

Postman, they have all died it seemed. I am waiting for an important document for two weeks now. There is not a single post delivered to our block during this period. Just using the flood as a good excuse not to work. Kentucky Fried Chicken, they ran out of potatoes and greens, we can only have chicken now while Swensen's ran out of toppings. And you did be lucky if you can order a bottle of mineral water eating out.

Cars, thieves are helping themselves to a buffet of them now. Police, not many of them in sight. Cars parked dry on the highways became a treasure trove for them criminals whose balls deserve to be cut off. So did the houses as them thieves arrived on boats.


Panic had driven many to do ridiculous things. Shops and household barricaded themselves in with high cement walls and sacks of sand bags while the street out front remained dry. Entering requires climbing over. But observe carefully, and you will see the possible passageways at corners where water will easily slip through. What?? Is this a trend that if my neighbor have himself a fort and so must I?


Every day on TV, they will invite some different doctor, professor or what not. Every day a different advise. WTF is the media doing??!! Every hour, news updated on the so many dedicated web sites, none in English. Everywhere on the roads, warnings signs put up to warn of impassible sections and detours, none in English. We want to flush the farangs from this land or what??

Waiting for the food to come, voices from the floor. Let it come and get it over with you bastards, stop blocking the water.

Bangkok Flood 2011? Bangkok still Dry

Where have all the farangs (caucasians) in my block gone? I asked the building management office below. She said they have all gone down south to the beach to escape the floods. There is only one farang left (not me, I am already more Thai than a foreigner). Farang's office, factory flood, so farangs now holiday. Farangs all afraid of flood, so they escape with Thai girlfriends to holiday.


The flood in the surrounding provinces had driven the farangs away, but it has also in turn brought in a massive flood of countrymen into the condominium I stay. Many residential apartments here in Bangkok had turned into a temporary refuge for someone's mother, father, son, grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunty, cousin and whatever being that can be traced to their family tree, very large tree. With this, came also an influx of cars, very big bunch of cars. So parking has been difficult these days if one were to come home after six. Kiasunisim (scared loose, scared die which is a Singapore slang) has been brought to a new level in Thailand, witnessed by the inconsiderate and un-orderly parking on all upper decks. Everyone wants to park on the upper floors, no one wants to park on the ground level. Why? Unnecessary panic.


During this period of chaos, political figures each took their turns to steal the limelight on TV. One said here will flood, the other say don't listen to him. One say water will come and order evacuation or urgent preparation, the other said its bull shit and only listen to the other. Flood brings water, water brings flood of confusion as we don't know which authority to listen to. People are frantically parking all over the toll ways in Bangkok without consideration to the traffic. Bangkok is dry, massive jams on toll ways for no reasons.


The sun sets early now as winter is setting in. The atmosphere in Bangkok this week had been gloomy. The gloominess can really be felt. It's a combination of the fear back in everyone's mind, plus the unnatural darker then norm of the sky. Strom clouds and darkness in the far horizon every day we see accompanied by the occasional thunderstorms in Bangkok from time to time. And when it rains it floods, but it floods because of the rain, not the torrents from the north. Bangkok is now encapsulated in a wall of old and newly constructed embankments. And within this large blob of a city, household dwellers many have surrounded their landed property in sandbags. I heard of one whose house was flooded even though he had put up a fool proof defense. That's because when it rained heavily, it kept the water in. Bangkok was dry, but his home was a pool.


The temper of many have grown shorter as the flood period grows longer. There are conflict in many of the affected communities. Some members of a village went ahead to destroy the dam build by another because it kept water in the former. Ugliness of people started to surfaced like flotsam. Boat taxis operators in masses moved their long tail boats across the levee from one waterlogged community to the other. That, just so to make the THB1,000 per trip to transport stranded victims out of their home. But by doing so, by sliding their so many boats across the mud levee, it gave way and water rushed in. All caught on public CCTV these culprits were. There have also been a rise in abandoned property being broken into this period. You moved your LED TV to the second floor, when the waters came you leave. When you return another day on a boat to check on your home, the grill had been compromised, the window broken. You lost more than just your TV. These criminals deserved to drown for abusing the situation, they ought to be shot on sight.


Well I bet the fishes are happy, they got the whole Bangkok to swim in soon. But they do need to be weary, fisherman are now casting their nets where the roads once were. Crocodiles had escaped from the overflowing farms. Rewards are given if we catch some. Leeches a plenty in some areas, wear that long pants if you go into the water. Mosquitoes has been the irritant of so many, the repellent depleted at Seven Eleven. The department store I was in yesterday, not a sight of a bottle of mineral water. The flood had reached some of the water treatment plants, my tap flow lately it smelled of soil so boil and drink I not rather.


Attempts to reason with nature is futile. Attempts to reason with nature will end in chaos. The rivers are where the waters will flow. And we are putting up so many makeshift dykes that prevented the natural flow into them. We want the water to flow here and not there, protect this estate and not that. We do not want the water to go into the river because we don't want the river to break her banks in central Bangkok. But that's what rivers are suppose to do from time to time, turning the surrounding into a flood plain so that water high up could drain. Although Bangkok is dry, I don't think we are making things better for the surrounding majority, I think we are just extending the flood.

Preparing for the great 2011 Bangkok Flood

I guess Thailand is one of the few places on Earth where one ponders how insurance can be claimed if one were to ram into a boat. It is indeed mystifying this situation. Thailand is also one of the few places on Earth right now that your friend calls you to bring him beer by boat should the flood sets in. Also, only here, we have live vest as part of household necessity items. This season, there is no need for car wash, just drive into the flood to give your car a quick bath.



In the supermarkets, instant noodles had been snapped by the lot leaving the shelves empty. And in the alcoholic aisle, Singha beer had been depleted. There were still two boxes of Tiger left, showing Thais prefer Thai beer after all.

Many provinces in Thailand had been inundated starting from a month back. This season, the rainfall is abnormal and we all conveniently pointed the finger at the easy excuse of global warming. Some folks in my office blamed the so many dams and hydropower plants abundant in this country that challenged nature. When it rains, we hold the water preventing floods. Dams benefit the farmlands holding in water for irrigation. Dams benefit the country's power demands as the held up water churned the turbines, like a battery these hydro facilities are when charged up by the rain. But we prevented the natural flow, and guess what happens when you charge a 1.5 V AA battery over a 115kV line? Like now, we have too much water.

Thais see everything in a different light. One individual said, this is the Lord Buddha washing the country clean of its dirty politics. Another said, this is an intervention from up there resisting the Prime Minister's policy to grant first time car owners a one hundred thousand Baht rebate by wiping out the Honda factory just up north. Over lunch, little coffee breaks in the pantry and during small talks over business meetings, this has been the main topic.

These two days, driving to work has been a breeze. Where have all the people gone? Many folks had returned to their provinces, to help their old parents move that TV and whatever valuables to the second floor I was told. I live in a condo, my room will never flood. But I do try to park my car on the second or third level if lots are available. We live in Bangkok, it is still dry for now. But many have been making arrangements by renting a lot to park their ride in multi-storey office complexes, or that big shopping mall nearby wherever they live. Bangkok had been dry so far because of a system of walls and levees previously build. So far we had kept Bangkok dry at the expenses of surrounding provinces drowned. The waters now embrace our protected space flowing with resistance into the sea. Many said its only a matter of time before we see New Orleans in Thailand. The levee will break.

I seek excitement, I want to witness. I want to drive with the rushing waters chasing my car behind as the levee of Chaopaya gets breached. I want that adrenaline rush or so just to experience what back in Singapore I do not. But do I? And I went to find out for myself. I drove over the bridge crossing Chaopaya and saw that she was heavily bloated. The brown river was strong and just less than a meter before water flows over the long resisting wall. The riverside houses of the poor, many half submerged.

U-turns along some roads are no longer possible. Like with all bridges over the myriad of canals here, you find a u-turn below it. The Mercedes driver thought his European car standard very good and so he plunged into what seemed like a meter of water. He never made the u-turn. I do not want to be floating down the canal in my sphere of a Honda Jazz, so I went on to look for the next u-turn down the long road. I made the turnaround a long distance further. The sandbags already breached and a few of them had toppled in, the black water flowing effortlessly over.


In a village near Bang Bua Thong I was and the next thing I realized was that the exit out was being flooded. The water had breached the village and they had to prevent the flow out onto the main road. By then the water was too deep and trucks making their way out had waters to the mid of their doors. The excavator was activated and was pushing sand to block in the village, a sacrifice - small village flood better then Bangkok flood. Now I know why the news of many stranded in the so many moo-barns in Thailand. Fortunately, I found another small exit rear of this encampment, but I had to negotiate the flooded roads and over a small desperate makeshift levee. Any time later, I would have made wherever I was my second home.



At Nonthaburi pier, the boats were sighted above the line of sand bags. That told me how delicate the situation was. Just one break and I will be paddling in water. The volunteers are on their 24 hours watch, napping in between on the embankments, ready to jump into action to plug that impending breach.



Some shop houses had put up cement walls, that which to be taken down after the flood and that which seemed too low to me. ATMs had been sandbagged in, probably to prevent people like me from dragging a floating ATM to my apartment during the flood. One thing I did like to do if the water breaks then, was to stick around and see if money flows out of these boxes like water, I would be happy.


Its dry now in Bangkok, we go about our daily lives. False security I am not sure, the flood will come we are not sure. In fact we are not sure of anything, even the government is not sure. But deep down, evil in me, I want to see it coming, it's gonna be a selfish experience of a lifetime. Phenomenon like these, never happens in Singapore unless you are talking about the joke that happened on Orchard Road. There is a high chance the flood of Bangkok will happen, but again these are just speculations. Flood, come get us. We are all ready at least.