Categories
Thailand

Southern Thailand hit by flash floods

First it was flooding in central and northeast Thailand. And now the country’s south has been hit.

Here’s the front page of today’s Bangkok Post, which includes an image of flooding in the southern Thailand city of Hat Yai:

2010-11-03_bkk_post.tiff

From the accompanying story:

Rescuers have struggled to get help to thousands of people stranded in their homes after three days of heavy rain triggered a massive flash flood that knocked down power poles and cut communications in Hat Yai city.

Officials said tens of thousands of people were trapped yesterday in the southern commercial hub which is facing its worst-ever flood crisis.

Torrential rains since Monday caused by a depression in the Gulf of Thailand engulfed Hat Yai municipality and many other areas of the South.

Many districts are under as much as three metres of water. One resident has been electrocuted during the flooding.

And here’s a closer look at weather patterns in the region — a larger image is here.

2010-11-03_southern_thailand_flooding.tiff

(All emphasis mine.)

(Screen captures via @RichardBarrow, who is tweeting images and updates on the situatuion.)

Categories
Bangkok Thailand

Thailand flooding update: death toll rises to 100; allegations of corruption in relief spending

2010-11-01_thai_flooding.jpg

Here’s an AFP story from Saturday: Death toll from Thai floods hits 100:

The death toll from severe floods in Thailand has risen to 100, including at least three foreigners, although the waters have receded in some areas, officials said on Saturday.

Six more people have died in the disaster, which began on October 10, the Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand said in its daily update.

Among them was a 38-year-old Dutchman, named as Harald Vusser, who was electrocuted or drowned in Ayutthaya province just north of Bangkok on Friday, it said.

Local media reported he was helping his Thai wife move her belongings to a dry place.

The other foreign victims were a 44-year-old Cambodian woman who was killed in a mudslide earlier this month on Koh Chang island in Trat province, and a two-year-old Burmese boy who drowned in Phathum Thani.

Authorities said 22 of Thailand’s 76 provinces were still flooded, while the waters had receded in 16 others.

And there’s this, about Bangkok:

Bangkok has been on standby with thousands of sandbags and pumps as flood water from the north runs downstream and could coincide with high tide.

So far the capital has avoided major flooding, although more than 1000 homes along the Chao Phraya have been partially submerged.

Another story to have emerged in recent days is this one, from Saturday’s Bangkok Post: Graft agency checks flood cash:

A graft busting agency will step up its investigations into claims of corruption in the relief effort as billions of baht pour into flood-ravaged provinces.

Ampol Wongsiri, deputy secretary-general of the Public Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), yesterday said five teams of investigators would head to flood-hit provinces to ensure transparency in flood relief spending.

Their focus will be on provinces that require funds of 50-100 million baht as emergency assistance for flood victims.

A recent PACC investigation found that less than 10% of disaster relief funds reached those in need.

For more, see this Siam Voices post: Flood relief opens new opportunities for corrupution.

And just a reminder: previous posts about Thailand flooding are here.

(All emphasis mine.)

Image: Bangkok Post.

Categories
Bangkok Thailand

Thailand flooding: death toll rises to 68

MCOT reports that the death toll in ongoing flooding here in Thailand has risen to 68:

The Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand on Thursday reported a total death toll of 68 from this month’s flooding, including 54 men and 14 women in 19 provinces Oct 10-28.

The highest number of deaths was recorded at 11 each in Lop Buri and Nakhon Sawan provinces and nine deaths in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Here’s some raw video — embedded below — of the flooding, courtesy of Thai network MCOT via CNN:

For historical perspective, embedded below is some footage that I understand depicts flooding here in Bangkok in 1942:

Meanwhile, if you’re interested in donating to help victims, the Bangkok Post has published account numbers for various groups providing relief.

(1942 video via @suthichai and @babyfishie.)

Categories
Thailand

Map of Bangkok flooding embankments

2010-10-27_bangkok_flooding_map.jpg

Here’s a map of flooding embankments in Bangkok, courtesy of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, via today’s Bangkok Post. Full story and larger map are here. So far the city has not suffered major damage.

Here’s an AP story with the latest details. More info — mostly in Thai — is available at ThaiFlood.com and the government’s official site, www.pm.go.th/flood/.

Here’s a Google Map of the flooding throughout the country, embedded below.


View Thailand Flood in a larger map

And the Twitter hashtag, of course, is #thaiflood.

Previous posts on the subject are here.

Categories
Bangkok Thailand

Thailand flooding: Death toll rises to 41; parts of Bangkok near Chao Phraya river evacuated

2010-10-25_flooding.jpg

Widespread flooding continues in northeast and central Thailand — and now parts of Bangkok near the Chao Phraya river have been flooded, as well. The death toll has risen to 41, with more than 2 million people affected.

Al Jazeera English: “Floods prompt Bangkok evacuation

Residents living near the main river that passes through the Thai capital Bangkok have been evacuated due to fears that the Chao Phraya could overflow following two weeks of flooding that has claimed at least 38 lives across the country.

Bangkok Post: “Flood relief gets a boost as damage tops B10bn

The government is planning to ease spending regulations and set up a relief centre as damage from the flooding tops 10 billion baht.

…and: “Flood toll rises to 41

At least 41 people have died in heavy flooding in 16 provinces since Oct 10, the National Institute of Emergency Management (NIEM) reported on Monday.

And earlier, The Nation had this: “Evacuation set to start

A plan has been drawn up to evacuate residents from riverside communities in 13 districts as the flood crisis intensified in Bangkok yesterday.

For ongoing info, see the #thaiflood hashtag on Twitter.

Previously: Here’s the Thailand flooding Google Map, and earlier posts are here and here.

Image: Bangkok Post.

Categories
Thailand

Thailand flooding on Google Maps

Update two: For more posts about flooding in Thailand as of Sept., 2011, see the Thailand Flooding tag.

Update: This post is from Oct. 2010. For more recent flooding news, from March 2011, see this post.

As I mentioned here and here, Thailand has been hit by the worst flooding in decades. @thaitvnews has created this Google Map — embedded below — of affected areas. The map contains photos, links to videos, and Thai-language descriptions of the floods.


View Thailand Flood in a larger map

(Via TTR.)

Categories
Thailand

More on flooding in Thailand [cross posted to Siam Voices]

Note: This is cross-posted to Siam Voices, a collaborative Thailand blog at Asian Correspondent.

Heavy rains have triggered the worst flooding in decades in central and northeast Thailand.

The New York Times had this story yesterday:

Devastating floods spreading from northeastern Thailand have left 17 people dead over the past two weeks as heavy rainfall has put entire villages underwater, destroyed crops and disrupted transportation and commerce.

Thailand’s relatively well-organized government services appeared to have been caught by surprise and in some areas overwhelmed, with some survivors stranded for days without government aid. Officials describe the flooding, which follows deadly inundations in Vietnam and other nearby countries, as the worst in half a century. Damage is estimated at more than $650 million.

This Thai-language TV report has footage of the flooding (embedded below):

And here are stories from VOA (“Asia Faces Rising Death Toll From Heavy Rains”) and Bloomberg (“Thailand Floods Kill 7 People, Spread to 13 Provinces; Transport Links Cut”).

Some other resources worth checking out:

— This Global Voices post has a map and a video of affected areas.

— A Bangkok Post graphic shows at-risk Bangkok areas — though so far there has been no serious flooding here in the Thai capital.

— A Thai-language site called ThaiFlood Situation has a map, reports, and alerts.

— Another Thai-language site with more info is Thaiflood.com.

— On Twitter, people are using the #thaiflood hashtag to disseminate news about the situation.

— And, of course, for ongoing information, see the Bangkok Post and The Nation.

(All emphasis mine.)

Categories
Thailand

Floods hit central and northeast Thailand

2010-10-20_thailand_floods.jpg

AFP yesterday: Flash floods kill seven in Thailand

The worst floods in decades in Thailand’s rural northeast have killed at least seven people and damaged homes, businesses and swathes of farmland, officials said Tuesday.

In worst-hit Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand’s biggest province, three people died and thousands of homes were flooded along with a hospital, which has been forced to evacuate patients in critical condition.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said twice as much rain had fallen compared with last year in the mountainous province about 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Bangkok.

“It’s the worst flood in 40 to 50 years in Nakhon Ratchasima,” he said.

Today’s Bangkok Post: Floods threaten six provinces:

Six Central Plains provinces have been placed on high alert against heavy flooding expected to be triggered by overflows from the North.

Provinces most vulnerable to the deluge are Sing Buri, Chai Nat, Ang Thong, Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi, Royal Irrigation Department spokesman Boonsanong Suchatpong said yesterday.

The six provinces would be unable to avoid flooding as a vast amount of water from the North and from Pasak Jolasit Dam in Lop Buri was approaching.

The department is trying to drain as much water as possible from the Chao Phraya River basin before Saturday, when the sea water level will begin to rise because of king tides.

Reuters/AlterNet: Severe floods hit Thailand, crop damage limited

Flooding in Thailand has caused only slight damage to the rice and sugar crops, officials said on Tuesday, and while rubber output is currently restricted by rain, that is normal for this time of the year.

Flash floods in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province have killed four people since Saturday.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by the worst flooding in decades in the province and at least 2,000 families have been evacuated to higher ground, provincial Governor Rapi Pongboopakit said.

(Emphasis mine.)

Map: Bangkok Post. More images from the Post are here.