Thailand flooding update October 19, 2011: Tips for tourists, a new map, and more

Here’s an update as of 11:30 a.m. today, October 19, 2011:

Tips for Tourists

I have received several emails from folks asking whether it’s still a good idea to visit to Thailand.

Obviously, I would not recommend tourists travel to central Thailand — and cities like Ayutthaya — since it’s been hard hit by flooding.

But as I’ve written here in my various Thailand flooding posts of late, central Bangkok has largely not been affected.

Other parts of the city, especially the north, have been hit by floods and are still at risk.

For other parts of Thailand, like the beaches in the south or Chiang Mai in the north, I suggest checking with the hotel or resort at which you’ll be staying. These areas have not been hit hard, but it can’t hurt to check and/or double check conditions on the ground.

So far, Bangkok’s international airport, Suvarnabhumi, has not been affected. But continue monitoring the news in case that changes.

I also suggest consulting official sources like the government’s Public Relations Department. Here is their announcement today.

And here’s is today’s statement from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

And as always, other sources for updates include:

• Bangkok-based blogger Richard Barrow, who has been Tweeting frequent updates and posting info on his site, Thai Travel News.
• You can search Twitter using the #ThaiFloodEng hashtag for English language updates.
• I’ve previously pointed out my Bangkok journalists Twitter list. I also maintain a general Thailand list.
• You can also check out local media like The Bangkok Post, The Nation, and the official MCOT.

New Map

Today’s Nation has this map of Bangkok:

News Reports

Bloomberg reports today:

Thousands of volunteers bolstered floodwalls in Bangkok, boosting confidence among officials tasked with protecting Thailand’s capital from a surge of water that has shut factories and disrupted supply chains across Asia.

And the AP says:

Thai authorities were staging a fighting retreat Wednesday against flood waters that threaten Bangkok, after the country’s oldest factory park was completely inundated and a nearby one faced imminent threat.

Meanwhile, the WSJ has a story on Prime Minister Yingluck, the floods, and what one analyst calls a “leadership crisis”:

BANGKOK—Recriminations over the handling of Thailand’s worst floods in half a century are causing fresh setbacks for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra as the financial cost of the disaster continues to mount and her government firmed up plans to inject billions of dollars to shore up the country’s faltering economy.

Ms. Yingluck’s biggest problem, analysts say, is the haphazard way information about the flood has been released, summed up by the science minister’s hasty call last week for evacuating part of the capital.

As ever, stay tuned.