I have a new story at the Wall Street Journal’s Southeast Asia Real Time blog today. The headline: “Another Bangkok Zoo Gets Hit By Flooding.”
It starts:
Another zoo in the Bangkok area has been hit as floodwaters continue to swamp the city.
Proprietors at Safari World – among the more popular destinations for families here – said they shut down the facility on Thursday after authorities opened a flood gate at a nearby canal following demonstrations by local residents, causing the zoo’s flooding defenses to be overwhelmed.
The animals inside the facility are not at risk — for now. But the situation has forced officials at the 500-acre complex to scramble to find dry ground for the lions, tigers, zebras, giraffes and other animals that roam there.
(Click through for a photo of zebras splashing through the floodwaters.)
I have a story on the Wall St. Journal‘s Southeast Asia Real Time blog today called “Will Bangkok’s International Airport Stay Dry?”
It begins:
As flooding continues to swamp outer Bangkok, some residents and international travelers have been pondering a critical question: Will the city’s international airport stay dry?
For now, it looks as if the airport most likely won’t be badly affected by floodwaters, given its advanced flood defenses. But the unexpected has already happened in other parts of Thailand, which is suffering from its worst floods in decades, so travelers are advised to keep watch.
The facility, Suvarnabhumi, is located on the city’s eastern outskirts — a key pathway for floodwaters flowing from the north around Bangkok into the Gulf of Thailand. Suvarnabhumi is a crucial regional aviation hub and one Asia’s busiest airports, with some 800 flights per day and an average of 100,000 daily passengers, according to government figures.
I won’t be posting anything here until Oct. 11.
In the meantime, you might catch me on Twitter, but dispatches there will likely be minimal.
A few administrative reminders:
As ever, thanks for reading.
(Image: via.)
Update, September 27, 2011:
I disabled the embedded video because it seemed to be available only as an auto-playing file. But you can still access it at the link below.
Go to the Embedded above Channel NewsAsia site to see a TV story I did yesterday for Channel NewsAsia.
It’s about an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting that took place here in Bangkok. Environmental officials from throughout the region discussed the smoke haze issue that affects Singapore, Malaysia, and other areas.
The text story is available, as well.
Two items to point out quickly:
Enjoy.
Self-promotion: I had a story over at the Wall Street Journal‘s Scene Asia blog on Tuesday about Bangkok’s new Hansar Hotel. It’s called “No. 1, Naturally.”
Self-promotion: I have a story today at the WSJ‘s Scene Asia blog about new options for bread in the Thai capital. It’s called “Where to Carb-Load in Bangkok.”
A few quick programming notes, now that things have slowed down a bit following Thailand’s recent election.
The vote attracted global attention, and Newley.com has some new readers.
So here’s a reminder of what you can find here, and as well as a few ways to connect with me elsewhere.
Recent work
Elsewhere on Newley.com
- The Popular Posts page contains some greatest hits, organized by topic.
- I maintain a list of Thailand-related blogs and other sites I like on my Links page.
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- My email address is newley AT gmail.com.
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That’s it for now. Thanks, as ever, for reading.
(Cartoon via The New Yorker‘s Cartoonbank.com.)
I'm Newley Purnell, an American journalist in Bangkok. I report for Bloomberg BNA, ABC News Radio, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and more.