Flood in Pathum Thani
I have never mentioned which part of province I’m staying in for the past 3 years, just for privacy. But then again, it’s time to write something about a place which has been my home since we moved to Thailand. Pathum Thani is a suburban, north of Bangkok city, and it takes about 30 – 45 minutes to reach the city center, depending on routes or traffic.
It’s a nice place, but some part may look like kampungs (villages), and it has a lot of canals, with Chrao Phraya river passes at some parts of this province. There are a lot of nice moobans (gated communities / housing estates) in my area, and it’s a nice place to stay. Honestly.
But since the main effort is to prevent flooding in Bangkok city, Pathum Thani has badly suffered from the flooding in Thailand, mostly due to the water flow from Ayutthaya and its surrounding provinces. Heavy rains contributed to the mass water volume too, but I think it’s the incompetence of government management that makes things worse as well. Why didn’t they empty the dams before the monsoon? How can’t they predict the rain fall volume?
It’s not a good idea sacrificing Ayutthaya every year, which I know it’s always flooded during this time of the year, throughout my stay in Thailand. I totally love the historical sites, but I had only been there twice. There are a lot of industrial areas around this region, and as you know, most have already inundated. It’s a pain in the a** to loss such money you know? Talking from those giant investors’ point of views. Why can’t the Thai government plan a water management system effectively, instead of blaming the previous government? You bet.
I would be happier to see Yingluck putting more effort in preventing flood than giving out tablet computers to student. Honestly.
I’m kiasi, I admit that. Being a Malaysian living in a country without much natural disaster, you can’t blame me for being kiasi. Another thing is, I worried too much and too early as well. The moment I saw the tweet about evacuation, even if it’s a false alarm, I decided it’s time to leave the house in Pathum Thani. That was last Thursday.
On Thursday, Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi ordered an evacuation from Bangkok’s northern outskirts to Don Mueang airport due to the failure to repair the water gate in Khlong Ban Phrao canal in Sam Khok district of Pathum Thani.
Other authorities later dismissed Mr Plodprasop’s announcement and insisted that despite the unfinished repairs of the water gate, floodwaters would not reach Bangkok and its adjacent areas in Pathum Thani. Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra on Thursday also blasted the announcement, asking Bangkok residents to listen to him and him alone for any evacuation orders.
Pol Gen Pracha yesterday joined the debate over who should issue evacuation announcements. “I think [Mr Plodprasop] should have acknowledged by himself that I’m the one who will make the evacuation announcement. He can talk about the things he is responsible for.”
Mr Plodprasop himself apologised to the public for causing a panic but said he did not make an evacuation announcement. He only told people to move belongings to higher ground and their cars out of flood-risk areas.
The Interior Ministry’s emergency operation centre for floods, storms and landslides yesterday morning declared 17 districts of Bangkok disaster areas that needed immediate help.
But in the afternoon, Pol Gen Pracha dismissed the morning announcement.
From Bangkok Post
From the bottom of my heart, I’m glad that someone made the public panic. 
I won’t have evacuated early if not because of this mistake. Before the weekend, Sam Khok was very badly submerged and then the water had spread to our area. Check out Chuan Chuen Golf Course and its mooban, which is just a stone throw away from our house.
Cars in the evacuated Chuan Chuen Golf Avenue housing estate on the Bangkok-Pathum Thani road in Muang district of Pathum Thani are almost completely submerged in the province’s worst flooding in five decades. The Bangkok governor has warned the city has 48 to avoid a similar fate. PONGPAT WONGYALA
That’s how fast the water came. I just don’t understand why they can’t issue evacuation order at least 48 hours earlier for most parts of Pathum Thani, instead of doing so when it’s too late. So you people in Bangkok better get yourself prepared.
So far, here’s the flooding update in Thailand.
The PM failed to protect Navanakorn yesterday, as she promised. I don’t think I will wait for the updates and it’s best to flee to safety first.
Companies with operations at Nava Nakorn, which was established in 1971, include Japanese watchmakers Casio and Seiko, the Swiss powdered milk and food producer Nestle, Japanese electronics firm Toshiba and hard drive maker Western Digital, which has already lost another production facility at another industrial park.
Western Digital issued a statement saying its other facilities in Malaysia, Singapore and the U.S. are fully operational, but that it “now expects that the flooding of its Thailand facilities, combined with flood damage to the company’s supply chain in Thailand, will have significant impact on the company’s overall operations and its ability to meet customer demand for its products in the December quarter.”
The biggest blows were suffered by Honda and Toyota for whom Thailand is a major production base. Both have been forced to stop all work here due to flooding of their facilities.
Many of the factories in flooded industrial estates are producers of specialized components, such as parts for computer hard drives, producing a knock-on effect for manufacturers in other areas unaffected by flooding that are unable to source needed parts.
Last week, a Japanese trade organization criticized the Thai government for allegedly failing to provide timely and accurate information about the situation in the central province of Ayutthaya, where hundreds of factories have been devastated, including electronics makers and automotive parts suppliers.
“Japanese companies didn’t know what was happening or which information was true or not,” said Seiya Sukegawa of the Japan External Trade Organization Thailand. “They received warnings but not enough information and not enough time to decide the next step.”
So, are we all really safe?
Recent Comments