What a flood!

The current flood in Thailand is the worst in a decade and shows the need of an improvement in Thailand’s flood prevention system. Following the situation with the red and yellow shirts Thailand has faced a huge drop in tourism, and this event is leading and will continue to lead to a drop in tourism for a while until Thailand gets back on its feet.

58% of the natural disasters that occur in Thailand for the past twenty years have been floods, but the government and country has not focused much on improving the flood prevention program because the flood doesn’t usually reach Bangkok. This tragic flooding we are experiencing is good in terms that after the event, Thailand will hopefully focus and have a better flood prevention system for the future.

Many people in Thailand who does not live in Bangkok is complaining because when they are flooded for two months, the government does not pay much attention to them but when there are rumors of flood water reaching Bangkok, they are freaked out and fully focused to prevent this. I would like to say the government has to care more for Bangkok because it is hope to a majority of Thai citizens, it is the capital and business city of Thailand and it is in the top five most visited cities every year in the world! However, I think the government should also pay attention to other cities who have been flooding for a while now, and have floods often every year.

Water covers more land than 3G and Wifi today in Thailand.  Many factories in places such as Ayutthaya have closed down and need lots of repair and money. They have closed down, and need about 5 months after the flood before they can get back to work. The Honda car factory has over 300 cars flooded and a lot of their factories have flooded. This will lead to a shortage of Honda Cars, and let lead the company to have minimal profit from Thailand at the end of the year. Also, a majority of the world’s computer hard disks and rice are produced in Thailand and the flood has led to a shortage of these products. Computer prices are expected to rise around 2000 baht per computer especially in Thailand. Starbucks in lots of places in Thailand has to close down, partly because of flooding, but also because they don’t have paper cups to serve their drinks with because the factory that produces it for them is flooded. Half of swensens menu are unavailable, and Burger King in places such as Chiang Mai does no longer sell burgers but only the French fries!

In some parts of Thailand, animals along with people have died. Animals such as crocodiles have traveled along with the flood and can cause people a lot of harm. Fifteen green deadly African snakes which have been imported for research are now out in the wild and with a bite; it can kill the person within minutes. Even if the person somehow manages to escape from it and get to a hospital, it is no use because there is no antidote for it that exist in Thailand yet and the government are currently talking about buying and importing these antidotes from areas in the world that have it, such as Africa.

                Many people are hurt and injured or even killed. Hospitals are flooded and have some problems getting people in and curing them. Businesses are going down and universities and schools are flooded. Schools and universities close down and this greatly affects children’s schooling and education. They will have to make up these weeks of absence during the holidays. Houses are destroyed and people have to evacuate and leave their possessions behind. These possessions will be destroyed, robbed of, or lost with the flood when they come back.

                However, the flood can be good for some people who seize the opportunity. Some people go out and buy dozens of packs of water in the supermarket for around less than ten baht a bottle and then in a few days when water bottles and beers cannot be bought in the markets anymore, they go out and sell each bottle for close to a hundred baht. Businesses that sell boats, lifejackets and umbrellas are having their best ever year!

                Although people may blame the heavy rainfall for this flood, the flood could have been prevented and the amount of water could be decreased. The dams in Thailand has been 99% full for a few months now and with each year it is almost being overflowed. The government received warnings but they ignored it. They were all full at the same time, and the government issued an order for all dams to let the water out. These waters, fueled by the rainfall caused this massive flooding along with other factors. If the government had let each dam let their water out one by a time before it was full, the water level of flooding would definitely decrease significantly.  Another reason that people say lead to this flooding is the huge deforestation which prevented the absorption of water.

                Every town which has been alert that the flood might reach their city, has tried to prevent it using sandbags but none were successful as the water level was stronger and higher than the sandbags. If none were successful, why should we believe that Bangkok will be successfully relieved of flooding? The flood water has already caused trouble and is leaked in into some parts of Bangkok. The newly elected prime minister knows she is in trouble with a lot of pressure with her inability to deal with the deeply concerned issue of flooding.

                Since I live in the heart and center of Bangkok, Sukhumvit 24 next to Emporium, the flood might not reach my condo. However, life is precious and one should take precautions and be cautious. If the flood reaches our condo, it would mean that we would have to “hibernate” and if the government turns off the light and electricity we would be in trouble therefore my mom evacuated our family to my grandparents’ house in Chiang Mai where we have been safely living for a few weeks now. Since Chiang Mai is on high ground and have a good flood prevention system, the flood came and went within 3 days and the water was usually no higher than 20 cm! Bangkok is on lower ground and for the water to get out of Thailand, and so that other cities can stop suffering from the floods, the water must go through Thailand into the sea/ocean. The government is finding ways for the flood to not enter the center of town where the majority of businesses and hotels are stationed. The government is also trying to find ways for people to travel as cars cannot run in the roads and transportation has been greatly affected and most are unavailable.

                The flood showed why Thai people are known for their generous and kind heart. Several people donated food and money and went to help. When sandbags were lacking in some areas, people went into the water and held hands, using themselves as a blockade by forming a chain. They risked their lives for the better of the community which I believe needs applauding. I can only hope that Thai people remain united and together we can stand up and fight the floods. I would also like to thank other countries such as the United States who have remained concerned and tried helping Thailand with this flood issue.

  

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-11-03/asia/world_asia_thailand-floods-before-after_1_floodplains-chao-phraya-moderate-resolution-imaging-spectroradiometer?_s=PM:ASIA
http://newsautoreview.com/news/honda-cars-destroy-a-flooded-in-thailand/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-06/thai-floodwaters-threaten-second-honda-factory-inner-bangkok.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Thailand_floods
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/comics/thailand-devastation-1317830757-slideshow/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15615876
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-08/toyota-honda-may-not-recoup-output-until-2012-due-to-thai-flood.html
http://www.thamai.net/2011/11/thailand-flooding-november-2011/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15610536
http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/01/technology/thailand_flood_supply_chain/index.htm