THAILAND: EIGHT KILLED IN BANGKOK FLOODS
Written by Michael Thervil
[BANGKOK THAILAND FLOOD KILL EIGHT] Over the weekend Bangkok, Thailand was declared a disaster zone by the Thailand government as over 12 inches of rain within 48 hours was dumped over the city leaving citizens stranded, roads closed, and 580,0000 homes flooded. Restaurants and local shops were also closed and flooded out as well. Eight people were killed and thousands more were displaced during the weekend flooding and an estimated $327 million homes have been affected. Thousands of Thailand citizens have been left with no way to access food and Thailand’s secretary of the interior ministry Unsit Sampuntharat stated that "The goal is to provide three meals a day to all residents throughout the ... flooding period and for at least another seven after waters recede.”
With the rainy season lasting six months out of the year combined with the fact that Bangkok is essentially constructed on a delta of a bed of clay 5ft (1.5m) above sea level, Bangkok has been sinking by several millimeters per year. These variables combined with the recent flooding have already adversely affected Bangkok's industrial and agricultural sectors. While rainfall has been predicted to continue to fall, the flood waters are also expected to significantly recede by no later than Monday afternoon.
The Thailand government has constructed over 200 makeshift shelters that are currently providing temporary shelter for at least 3,000 people. While this serves as a good initiative by Thailand authorities, it appears to be a drop in the bucket when there are four times that amount of people that have been forced out of their homes and/or evacuated during the flooding. 25 out of Thailand’s 77 provinces have also been impacted by the heavy flooding over the weekend as well. The rainy season in Thailand typically starts in the months of May/June and typically ends sometime in October with September being the heaviest month for rainfall.
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