The true cost of the flooding

[med142]

Will we know the true cost of this disaster? I don't think that we will really know.By keeping the water out of Bangkok, this has affected not only the people who are trapped in aqua land, but also the economy.Would it have been any less of a disaster if the flood water was left to run its course? maybe, it would have been all over and done with by now and less of a blow to the economy.
What is needid in times like this is not inter-party rivilary, but all working as a team to lessen the affect that this disaster has had.
The previous party has contributed very little to help lessen the affect of this disaster, but on the contrary has tried to ridicule and hinder the present governing party.
This coming from the head of the previous party who by all accounts has a degree from a well know university in the uk,
should know that in times like this, one should forget politics and think of the country and the people.
The impact is not only on the economy and exports but on health also.
The health issue is wide spread and will affect the many, not just now but in the future also. There will be a population
increase of mosquitos, and other creatures also, are we ready for this? I don't think so.
The cleaning of the factories and dwellings is actually appalling. The water born diseases will penertrate the fixutures and fittings aswell as the plaster or cement rendering on the walls. They will lay dormant untill activated again. The plaster or cement rendering on all walls should be taken off and replaced with new plaster or cement rendering.
Its the same with the wood also.
What should be set up is an independant agency which will deal with all said disasters, and be given powers to act accordingly and in the intrest of the country and people. The agency must not contain relatives, family members of any politician. This is so that the agency is independant of politics, and maybe corruption alligations also.
I have heard also that nearly all aid packages with food water etc has stopped or nearly stopped being given to the people
still trapped in aqua land. If this is the case i think that this needs to be re-addressed and aid restored properly to these water stricken people.

[turbomotiv]

This is a man-made disaster, not a natural one.
Dams started filling since July, when PT came to power.
At that time, PT was forcing thru its first policy of rice pledging.
PT wanted to maximise paddy yield, so consumers wouldn't be too badly impacted on price.
As dams filled in Aug-Sept with record rain, a measured release would inevitably flood a lot of rice paddies.
RID officials currying favour with the new govt told ministers to keep the water in dams, what ministers wanted to hear.
By the start of Oct, dams were so full, the water threatened to damage the dams.
With no options, officials held their noses and released all the water in one step.
This turned out to be a mass of water unmanageable by existing dikes and sluices.
Nakhon Sawan, Singburi, Lopburi, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and northern Bangkok went under.
The cost in baht, measured in the trillions. Trillions of baht, my friends.
In my haste to move stuff, I snapped the leg off my wife's dog ornament. She was sad.
My lawn looks like it was in the Battle of the Somme.
I do believe, someone is liable.

[med142]

Well as for the battle of the somme, i do doubt it. I do say to you that i do hope that everything is getting back to normal
for you in your home Turbomotiv, And that you have had the dog's leg fixed? Do not forget to ensure that all furnishings that have been tainted by the flood water is destroyed, The walls please soak them many times with a strong bleach, as water born disease can live in the walls and wait to be activated by moisture or water.
The last government was warned in march about the possibility of more rainfall than usual and the possibility of widespread flooding. Did They do anything? No.Was the information supplied to yingluck's party? we do not know.
One can not blame yingluck for this disaster, maybe one or two of her party members, who knows? But also yes a lot of it is man made. why? well all the concrete developments etc the water has no where to go like before when the areas are covered in houses,factories etc in the flood plains. Perhaps planing permission should be sort prior to building on flood plains? You know being a brit here i have seen in the uk what living on a flood plain can do. In York in the past year when it was floodid. now people who live on the flood plain there can not even insure their homes or even sell them.

[khunwilko]

There will be political environmental and economic fallout from this flooding.

but I really have no time for those who try to blame the government for the countries woes ere.
Let's face ANY government would have handled this as incompetently as this one.......they are simply par for the course.

Remember too that the initial handling of the water in BKK was down to the governor - a Democrat supporter. And it is pretty much agreed that several high ranking people deliberately took obstructive actions purely for political reasons,,,,,,

[med142]

I agree with Khunwilko.
Not one government would have fared better than the other.Lets not forget the also about the health problems which will
araise from this flooding and the stagnant water caused by certain individuals by preventing the water to go its own course.
Big rise in mosquitos etc.
Perhaps the flood would have been over quicker had it not been stopped in certain areas.

[turbomotiv]

One can not blame yingluck for this disaster

I agree - i doubt if she was properly informed on critical dam levels.
Culpable: a minister left over from the previous admin. and another brought in as a technocrat outsider, both eager to prove credentials of loyalty to the new regime, with an aggressive push on rice pledging.
I also agree that whoever was the government after this event, would have found the situation unmanagable.

[bangbang]

Everyone of us needs to start trying to live a little greener for the sake of our environment and the future of our children and their children. Floods used to be a natural disaster, but with the way we pollute our lands, this is turning out to be a man made disaster. We need to somehow start some sort of movement that will make our surroundings cleaner. I know there's nothing we can do about factories and the like, but there is something we can do with our own actions. I'm just ranting out right now but I know if we all try to live a cleaner lifestyle, floods will not be as common an occurrence as it is these days.

[trev666]

I was very surprised to see a headline in BP proclaiming that even if we had as much rain or even more rain next year we will have implemented measures in time to prevent flooding like we have suffered this year.

Such promises are extremely short sighted. The rains could start in 16 weeks or even earlier. Apparently last year it was the unseasonal rains in March that heralded the start of the problem. This was preceeded by an unusually dry, dry season and it was thought prudent to top up the dams. When the monsoon rains did arrive and gave heavier rains than normal all was set for an epic flood season.
This 100 year event arrived in Thailand to find 10 times the population it would have done a century ago. Not only that most were now living and working on the Chao Praya flood plain. Poor or corrupted land use development planning had allowed this to happen. The new developments also had two major impacts on the flooding. One, the non porus surfaces increased the rate of rain run off. Two, the developments had also blocked many of the natural and ancient drainage channels preventing the flood water from reaching the sea. Also Bangkok is several cm lower than it was a century ago. What drainage channels there were had been poorly maintained, many blocked by detritus including non- biodegradeable plastic etc

History will record that the flood control was seriously hampered by lack of an effective national plan and command centre.

Many experts have concluded that the flooding was 30% natural and 70% man-made. Many warn that the 30% natural looks like getting much worse and harder to predict and control as climate change begins to make itself felt.
I was very surprised to see a headline in BP proclaiming that even if we had as much rain or even more rain next year we will have implemented measures in time to prevent flooding like we have suffered this year.

Such promises are extremely short sighted. The rains could start in 16 weeks or even earlier. Apparently last year it was the unseasonal rains in March that heralded the start of the problem. This was preceeded by an unusually dry, dry season and it was thought prudent to top up the dams. When the monsoon rains did arrive and gave heavier rains than normal all was set for an epic flood season.
This 100 year event arrived in Thailand to find 10 times the population it would have done a century ago. Not only that most were now living and working on the Chao Praya flood plain. Poor or corrupted land use development planning had allowed this to happen. The new developments also had two major impacts on the flooding. One, the non porus surfaces increased the rate of rain run off. Two, the developments had also blocked many of the natural and ancient drainage channels preventing the flood water from reaching the sea. Also Bangkok is several cm lower than it was a century ago. What drainage channels there were had been poorly maintained, many blocked by detritus including non- biodegradeable plastic etc

History will record that the flood control was seriously hampered by lack of an effective national plan and command centre.
Many experts have concluded that the flooding was 30% natural and 70% man-made. Many warn that the 30% natural looks like getting much wor
So what can be done for next year?
We have time to establish a national agency with the authority to act in the interests of the whole nation. BMA must not be allowed to go against the national interest again. If the national agency decides that some have to suffer so that others don't, then the suffers must be fully compensated.
We can dredge all of the natural and ancient drainage channels. (bearing in mind though, that if upstream flow is improved it makes it more difficult down stream.)Building higher stronger walls in Nakhon Sawan makes it more likely that Ayattya will flood...and if Ayattya builds high walls then it is more likely that Bangkok will suffer.
It will take longer to implement other measures such as slowing down the run off in the Northern Mountains by re-afforestation measures and the like. (control of slash and burn and burning off in general might be feasible in the short term).
Whatever happens though it is vital that the government comes up with a deliverable set of measures to deal with the problem in the short, medium and long term.An effective flood control plan will almost certainly require a robust planning system (corruption is and will be a major problem and needs to be tackled in the national interest with urgency.)
If the government fails to come up with a believable viable plan everyone will lose confidence. Sacrificial, flooded out residents will resort to violence. Foreign investors will look elsewhere.In short everyone will suffer. Although I suppose the Bangkok elite can always migrate elsewhere to better managed countries.
Then again we could all offer a red fanta and a couple of bananas to the spirits and hope for the best.(In the short term that might be the best we can do if we are destined for another 100 year event next year.)

[bluebottle]

I read about the government sponsoring flood damage insurance but seem to be having problems finding who will supply the cover or am I mistaken and is this info just words by the so called government.I see many words and quotations about 500 Tbht giving cover for 100,000 Tbht but no advertising!!!.What is going on? confused bluebotle

[med142]

bluebottle. we all know that insurance companies do not like to insure houses,businesses in flood prone areas unless the payments made for the insurance cover are very high. No insurance company will insure in areas like this unless the premiums are high.
In York, UK. insurance companies will not insure houses etc in flood prone areas. people can not even sell their homes in these areas now.