Flood Update for Bangkok and Central Thailand.
 

From many requests by emails from friends on Fodors I have been ask to start the report again due to confusing information being pass around. I ask that I be allow to post the report without disruptions or distractions.

Flood Update for Bangkok and Central Thailand.

For inner or central Bangkok.

I now feel that there is little chance of flooding beyond the current frontline of floodwater. Many, many water pumps have been installed in Klong Bang Sue(spl) and they have been hugely successful in draining the floodwater into the main river(Chao Praya river). If this fails then there’s a giant drainage tunnel that can handle any overflowing water a few kilometers South of Klong Bang Sue.

The rest of Bangkok.

The floodwater have now spread out surrounding Northern(severe), Eastern(moderate) and Western(severe) Bangkok. For South West Bangkok the water have not reach there yet but there’s an effort to try to force the water through there so that it can be drained into the sea.

Roads and transportation.

The roads going North from Bangkok, to destinations like Chaing Mai, Ayudhaya or Sukhothai, have partially reopen and traffic can only move slowly through shallow flood.

Roads going East to destination like Pattaya are still fine for now and in the future due to elevated tollway from Bangkok to Bang Pakong.

Roads’ going south, one remaining dry highway, is still not flooded as the floodwaters have spread out sideways due to the relatively flat grounds or topography. Alternative routes are being urgently prepared but have not been finished. This is significant for tourists going to destination South of Thailand by road. You will either not be able to go or stuck there if the remaining highway is flooded.

Suvarnabhumi airport, located in Samut Prakarn province East of Bangkok, is safe and now with the strengthen flood defenses will IMO remain under all circumstances.

Provinces immediately surrounding Bangkok.

Northern and Western provinces are still flooded but the water has begun to recede. This is mainly due to the topography flattening out and the floodwater is now more spread out.

The Eastern province of Samut Prakarn, where Suvarnabhumi airport is located, is partially flooded with a big industrial estate just north of the airport beginning to see floodwater. As I’ve mentioned earlier, even if the rest of this province flood the airport defenses have been strengthen to handle it and the roads are mostly elevated going back and forth from the city.

The Southern provinces are mostly dry as the floodwater have still to make their way through Bangkok. Pay close attention to the Southern highway if you have interest going to destinations that require driving Sought to and from Bangkok.

Current state of the flooded areas.

The flooded areas of Bangkok and the affected provinces is still in desperate condition for the people who have chosen to remain or have nowhere to go. Floodwater is very polluted and several diseases and illness have been reported from people who are in the area and especially those having to wade through the water. Many areas are seeing reduction in flood height but not significant enough to claim that the water have gone. Most likely best scenario is that the areas will remain flooded for many more days.

The floodwaters after initially passing to lower grounds from an elevated topography have now reached the flat areas. The floodwater volume is still there, estimated at around 10,000,000,000 cubic meters but the grounds have leveled out. From this volume an estimated 35% must pass through Bangkok to the sea and the rest will dissipate into the floodplains and rivers.

Latest satellite photo from November 8, 2011: http://www.gistda.or.th/gistda_n/Gal...S1-central.jpg

Thank you. I have missed your updates. We are now getting more coverage on the radio.

Thank you so much for this valuable update, Hanuman.

Thanks! Very nice of u to continue to do these updates.

Thanks for posting again Hanuman. Are you still in Bangkok?

as always you are our most up to date and reliable source..

K&B

Your updates are always appreciated and reliable, thanks Pook

Aloha!

Pook,
Does that make road journeys to Hua Hin difficult? ( my geography is poor) would HH be classed as south or in the general direction of Pataya?
Hope the family are all ok?
N

Thanks everyone.

Nicky,

Yes Hua Hin uses the main highway going South which is Highway 2 when it's near Bangkok. Right now the floodwater is brimming by the Doa Kanong area of the highway or by the big bridge crossing the Chao Praya river. The authorities will allow the water to flood the highway once it's there to expedite the flooding in western Bangkok.

For Pattaya you will have to take the eastern route, roughly passing by the general area of the airport from Bangkok.

Some water flooding over from the Chao Praya river around Klong Toey(the Bangkok port) at moment from broken flood barriers but these type of flooding are usually dealt with quickly.

Oops I meant to write "The authorities will allow the water to flood the highway once it's there to help reduce the flooding in western Bangkok."

Thanks to the update Hanuman. Do you happen to know whether the train route to the North has reopened? the Thai rail website no longer displays the "closed until further notice" warning but does not seem to mention that the line has re-opened

Rerouted...

crellston,

Not sure but Zeer probably got it right. I will check for you on Monday but what they have done in the past is to bus people around the flooded area before boarding the train.

Yes, a huge thank you, Hanuman!

You're welcome Cattail.

crellston,

Zeer has posted the update link for the rail status. I think your travel date to Thailand is next month so I would check regularly with the SRT(State Railways of Thailand).

Flood update:

Local TV is reporting many residents from northern Bangkok and Pathumthani, numbering over 10,000, will be protesting against the flood barriers put up around the old airport. They will gather and block the Don Muean tollway in a few hours and a few might attempt to dismantle the flood barriers. If this happen then more water will enter Bangkok from the North but as I've said before the Klongs or canals plus the giant drainage tunnels around Din Dang will be able to handle it.

Elsewhere around Bangkok:

The floodwater is slowly coming down in several flooded areas around Bangkok. A few new districts or areas along a canal(Klong San Saep) is seeing rising water and might flood. The flooding along this canal should not spread pass the mid Ramkamhang road area.

Most flooded area are still not navigable by cars and the water is very, very polluted.

IMO it will take another month at least for the water to completely go away.

Pook, thank you for the updates. I'm really hoping your predictions are spot on. The month for water to completely go away... will it hamper clean up in other areas? We are not changing plans for December/January, and that is just over a month from now.

Many thanks Hanuman & Zeer. As you say Hanuman our travel from Chiang Mai to Bangkok is towards the end of Dec so I will keep checking but it does seem that it will be ok.

You're welcome crellston.

Carol I really hope it will be over by then and if it's not then there will be protests on the streets.

So grateful for your reliable updates. I so missed reading your reports when you stopped posting.
Are you able to get back to the area where you home is yet? Has the water receded there at all? Do you think that you will be able to salvage your home or is it too soon to tell?

Your family and all my Thai friends remain in my prayers as you all try to deal with this difficult and unpredictable tragedy that has befallen you.

Stay strong.
Sue

Hi Sue,

We are still flooded but the water have receded by about 30%. As per the damages from the flood we will have to wait until the water is down enough to send in engineers to evaluate the repairs. I say around 2 to 4 weeks for the water to go down enough to enter our affected property by car or foot, right now only by boat!

Flood update:

North Bangkok.
The northern floodwater line remains the same with floodwater being successfully drained into the river through Klong Bang Sue and the giant tunnels.

Lots of unrest around Don Mueang airport which could escalate further with citizens blocking the tollway and removing more water barriers. In fighting between the government and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, each elected from opposing political parties, is not helping the situation. By 5PM, local time, today if the citizens around there are not satisfy they will block the tollway and remove more barriers.

If more barriers are removed then the floodwater might increase in the flooded areas in north Bangkok but the water should not be able to advance much more towards central or inner Bangkok. A lot of water pumps have been installed in Klong Ban Sue and along with the giant tunnels by Din Dang should be able to handle any excess water.

Eastern Bangkok.

The floodwater is still increasing along the Klongs(canals) there causing more flooding in Eastern Bangkok. The water is coming Westward and Southward from the flooded plains and could see some areas of inner Bangkok flooded from this. Not significant for tourists as these inner areas are not really on the tourist map.

Western Bangkok.
Another area that is seeing a lot of unrest by affected citizens. The remaining southern highway is still not flooded but everyone is predicting that it will. The government vain promise of creating an alternative route, which if works would add several kilometers or several hours of driving time. TV news stations are showing aerial report of the alternative highway going south and it looks like it will take several more days for this route to be ready – the government have promised that this route will be open by today. Promises like this are causing a lot of resentment towards the government and local administration.
Summary.

Civil unrest is the main concern IMO at the moment. This could result in the destruction of flood barriers or bigger protest. Areas that are flooded, with water over 2 meters in some place, are largely ignored by the relief workers or agencies. People there are extremely agitated. There are still over 500 people abandoned inside Don Mueang airport with no electricity, tap water and toilets. They have been there for 3 weeks now and are fed daily by boats from both the government and private citizens.

Central or inner Bangkok remains the same, dry and will not see total flooding IMO. People are generally somber in the dry area.

Thanks for the updates, Hanuman.

do you see future problems for the gov't when this is all over??

aloha hanuman, thanks for the updates, which are very helpful to the travelers on this board, and us stay-at-home guys.

You're welcome everyone.

Bob,

I see problems for the government right now! In an open budget debate last week both the government and opposition have already discussed the flooding and poor responses from the government. The cause of the flood was hotly debated but it wasn't a censure and only an open forum with regard to the national budget.

Both side agree at the end that the PM did not need to step down as I don't think the opposition leader want to run the country at the moment!

Flood Update:

Not much changes from my last update. For the visitors who are only interested in visiting central Bangkok then there's no worry right now.

More unrest by flooded and soon to be flooded people and threat of protests at various key roads/highways.

Apart from that nothing really important to report especially concerning travel to Thailand,.

Many thanks for the updates Pook, as ever great to have an "on the ground" report.

Thank you so much for this valuable update, Hanuman.

You're welcome Nicky and zefina.

I am going to Bangkok for a couple of days and then will be driving to Chiang Mai to spend a week at our resident there. I don't think there will be any more to report as the water is receding around the northern Bangkok front and this is really the only front that threaten central Bangkok.

Apart from the north, in the east and west of Bangkok the water is still increasing but will not threaten central Bangkok. Suvarnabhumi airport will most likely be safe from flooding.

Sounds like good news, mostly. Thanks for that. So the road to Chiang Mai is now navigable? Or do you have to zigzag your way, avoiding flooding?

It should be Carol especially from the last exit of the Don Muaeng tollway northward. The only way I will know for sure is to do it!

To better explain, most highways and roads in Thailand are built on top of landfills and are usually several meters higher then the surrounding land. I am sure I will be going pass areas where the highway(highway 1) will be surrounded by floodwater but according to the department of rural roads it's dry.

Good!! I just recalled that the train route was flooded, and had some re-routing in order to make the trip to Chiang Mai. Maybe train tracks aren't as elevated as the highways.

Have a nice time!

I flew from Chiang Mai to Bangkok on Saturday. The word that I heard was that the 10 hour drive was now going to take 15 hours because of flooded roads. There was no problem with flooding in the north (Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai were beautiful), but lots of evidence of disruption in Bangkok (including the highways being lined with hundreds of buses and taxis that need a place to part). The Grand Palace was pretty empty of tourists, and dry.

Carol,

I will use the Don Muaeng tollway which is elevated until it clear Bangkok while the train track are submerged with floodwater almost directly underneath the tollway. Once pass Bangkok I believe the tracks are dry.

cathygreen,

Glad you like Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. It usually take me around 6 hours to drive from Bangkok to CM but this time I'm going to allow 8 hours for the drive. We'll spend a week there and then perhaps drive to Nan or Phrae.

thanks hanuman you are doing great help to people. i need advice from you. i am planning to come there
mumbai,india to bangkok on 22nd nov. 2011
bangkok to krabi 22nd nov. 2011
krabi to bangkok 25th nov, 2011
bangkok to mumbai india 29th nov, 2011

please advice me should i cancel my trip looking at the condition in bangkok. i am comming on my honeymoon trip. please reply as and when you receive as i have to cancel my tickets. i have booked centre point sukhmit soi 10 at bangkok for my stay.

Thanks for the great reporting. Good luck with your trip. Hope to be back in BKK in a few weeks.

Goyal,

Come no reason to cancel now and the weather is great at the moment.

Congrats on your wedding!