5:30 p.m. Bangkok time, October 14, 2011:
As I have noted in my previous posts on the flooding here in Thailand, central Bangkok has so far been largely unaffected.
Since several people have emailed me to ask about this part of town, I thought I would share the cell phone pic below, which I snapped earlier this afternoon.
I noticed a few large puddles on one of the city’s main thoroughfares, Sukhumvit Rd., most likely due to the recent downpours.
But I was somewhat surprised to see that near Sukhumvit Soi 14 and the Asoke BTS station, someone — likely merchants in the buildings on the left — had set up several sandbag barriers:
For the record: I spoke with a vendor who told me these were, indeed, meant to protect the area from potential flooding.
The sandbags weren’t meant meant, she said, to simply shield the shops from puddles that had already accumulated due to rain.
Again, I did not see any flooding along Sukhumvit, and have not seen any evidence of flooding in central Bangkok.
But as I’ve noted earlier, and as the maps I’ve posted show, other parts of the city — especially to the west, north, and east — have been affected and/or are at risk in the days to come.
As ever, I’ll continue sharing updates.