Thailand flooding update: Oct. 12, 2011: Map of Bangkok flood defenses and more

This site continues to receive significant amounts of traffic from folks looking for information on flooding in Thailand.

So here’s a summary of the situation as of 9:45 p.m. Bangkok time today, October 12, 2011:

Summary

Much of greater Bangkok has not been hit by floodwaters. But there are concerns that as tides rise in the coming days, that may change.

The international airport, Suvarnabhumi, so far appears to be unaffected.

Generally, areas near the Chao Phraya river — in Bangkok and in central Thailand — are most at risk. This includes old Bangkok, downtown, near the river.

Much of Ayutthaya has been affected.

Here’s a map called “Bangkok’s Flood-Prevention Plan,” from The Nation.

You can see how authorities are dealing with the flooding here in the Thai capital:

Here’s a larger version.

And here, again, is the map of Thailand I posted yesterday, so you can get a sense of which parts of the country have been hit:

Some news reports from today:

The WSJ describes how industries operating here have been affected:

With rescue teams and troops racing to prevent swelling floodwaters from breaching the defenses of Thailand’s low-lying capital Bangkok, foreign and local businesses continued to calculate the cost of swamped factories and broken supply chains Wednesday, while the prime minister warned retailers against profiteering.

Another WSJ story provides more info on auto makers:

Thailand’s auto exporters are being hit by supply-chain disruptions following the worst flooding the country has seen in nearly half a century.

Bloomberg says that Bangkokians have started hoarding food and water:

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged food producers not to raise prices as Bangkok residents started hoarding rice, instant noodles and bottled water amid conflicting government warnings about floods threatening to inundate the capital this week.

The AP has a dispatch from Ayutthaya:

The lucky ones traverse this flood-submerged Thai city in navy boats and motorized canoes. The rest float on whatever they can find – inner tubes, swan-shaped pedal boats, huge chunks of muddied white plastic foam.

Other resources:

• Bangkok-based Richard Barrow has been Tweeting frequent updates and posting material to his site, Thai Travel News.
• In addition to the #ThaiFlood hashtag, you can search #ThaiFloodEng for exclusively English language news.
• I pointed out my Bangkok journalists Twitter list, but I wanted to mention that I also maintain a general Thailand list that includes more than 300 Thailand-related Twitterers.
• And finally, for ongoing news, you can consult local media such as The Bangkok Post, The Nation, and the official MCOT.

Stay tuned. You can follow me on Twitter for more updates.