Floods: Triple Threat and the Race Against Time

So this is what I have learned in the last few days from reading the news…

Thailand is racing against time to shore-up protective floodwalls in Bangkok with sandbags and mud to stop the country's devastating floods from engulfing parts of the capital.  Thailand has been hit by its worst floods in five decades and all of the newspapers are warning that the worst is still to come. 

So far, 281 people have been killed with more missing in Thailand.  Some 61 of the country's 76 provinces have so far been affected, impacting more than 8.2 million people.

More than 500,000 square kilometers -- an area the size of Spain -- are affected by the floods in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, according to CNN.

Meanwhile, the UNESCO-listed Ayutthaya historical park (with temples over 400 years old), has been submerged for over a week now.  There is incredible concern that if the site is under water for more than 30 days it may cause serious damage.  Ayutthaya is just 40 miles NE of Bangkok.

"Between seven and eight billion cubic meters of water a day is being released from the Bhumibol dam in the north of the country, which is heavily affecting provinces like Nahkon Sawan and Ayutthaya." (Government official Wim Rungwattanajinda told CNN)

"From that, about one to 1.2 billion cubic meters of water is reaching Bangkok every day.”

One quote that caught me a little off guard:  “It's a race against time, as Bangkok is only two meters above sea level." (CNN's Paula Hancocks).  Whoa – I don’t think I knew/thought about how close Bangkok is to sea level…yikes.

They are now calling it the Triple Threat:  Waters are coming down from the north which may merge with predicted high tides from the south, and further floodwater from the east, expected to drastically worsen from Friday onwards.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is warning residents in Bangkok to prepare to be directly affected by the country's worst floods in decades.  What makes matters worse is that the rain just isn’t letting up, and continues to pour all night long.  

Political Issue:  There are a few political issues surrounding this flood.  One interesting dilemma (that is directly connected to what I am now studying at Chula in development!) is impact and how you justify making decisions that affect many people.  Areas upstream of Bangkok are flooded to depths of more than three meters, but the government is refusing to open floodgates blocking the path of the water as it attempts to protect the capital, which houses 12 million people.  People in the north are incredibly upset, with some villages over 3 meters underwater, that Bangkok is refusing to help them, and instead, pours more money into protecting the city – building trenches, canals and sandbag walls.