Come hell or high water
Not even flooded Bangkok streets can stop the determined tuk tuk driver
13 November….I’ve heard it described as surreal, the slowest train wreck of all time, living in a parallel universe or perhaps most succinctly – unbelievable. Yes, unbelievable probably says it best. Bangkok, a city of over 10 million people, is slowly being flooded, so slowly in fact that while some parts of the city can be under 2 metres of water the downtown area is completely dry. It is surreal to live in the dry section of the city, as we do, but it’s unbelievable what this city is enduring.
Will the downtown area be flooded? Yes, it definitely will, no, it definitely won’t; the water will be here in two days, the city will be completely dry in 11 days. One government authority is using one strategy to drain the city, another authority has another strategy. Citizens are knocking down sand bag walls and prying open sluice gates in the belief that if they let the water into the downtown area their houses will drain out. Civil authority is hard to find.
Which one of these policemen is really directing traffic?
Sadly, there are two stories here. The first story, tragic in all dimensions, is that literally millions of people are flooded out of their homes, their villages, schools, fields and places of work. Over 500 people have lost their lives. Government support of these people in need, most of whom already live very simple lives, is minimal at best. And as the water continues to flow south towards the Gulf of Thailand, measured in billions of cubic metres, standing in its natural path is Bangkok.
A coupla local ladies taking a breather in their new designer rubber boots
And this is the second story. Bangkok represents more than half Thailand’s economy and the downtown area, including the main tourist attractions, hotels, office buildings and shopping centres, is the heart, brain and cash register of this nation. So the government has decided, it seems appropriately, to defend the downtown area at the expense of other areas. Massive sand bag walls are erected and various tactics are used to divert the water around the downtown area and let it flood through other communities on its inevitable path to the sea. So we are spared while others paddle. It’s not just and not fair but it is what it is.
Thai army using all their vehicles to evacuate people
We go about our regular day with the inconvenience of having to climb over walls of sand bags and hastily erected brick walls to get to work and in and out of the shops. We have had to stock up on some items and do without a few things because the supermarket shelves are a bit thin. The people living in most of the northern, eastern and western suburbs are struggling to stay above the water level or have given up and evacuated. Not good. That’s seriously surreal.
A mighty Pajero braving the conditons with back up equipment in case it gets deeper
Our company has about 400 staff in Bangkok and roughly 100 of them have had to move out of their homes to stay dry. Our company, like most international companies in Bangkok, is helping these people with accommodation and money to get through this mess. There are also volunteer efforts to help those in need and a very flexible work environment to allow all staff as much leeway as they need at this difficult time.
But will the water breach the barriers and eventually flood the downtown area? Well, the flood is now in its fourth week and we don’t know yet. It’s the slowest ever train wreck. A range of experts all have their view and it sounds like a Monty Python skit to hear the various Ministers contradict each other. But the general impression as I write this today is that the water probably won’t reach the downtown area and that somehow the authorities have managed to divert the main flows around us.
Wading through the water to load the bus - life goes on
You do what you gotta do - getting around in flooded Bangkok
Last weekend Julie and I caught the MRT (underground train – some irony there!) to the area called Lat Phrao where we came up the stairs and out on the footpath to be met with 30cm of water and much deeper levels in the street. Buses and trucks still trekked up and down the streets, people walked through the water, some semblance of life seemed to be maintained. But the flooded shops we passed, the local restaurant we ate at that had water lapping at its last step, and the faces of the locals told us the real story. This disaster would have a major impact on these people for a long time to come.
The Thai army evacuating people from their flooded homes
Filming the action from the flooded footpath
We also travelled a little further north to Phahon Yathin where the water was deeper and we saw a major shopping complex closed to flooding, military trucks evacuating the locals and kids – being kids – splashing around in the brown water. We saw young people helping old people, we felt a strong community spirit as everyone chipped in to support each other, we encountered friendly locals who would smile as they shrugged their shoulders and we were heartened to hear the continuous friendly voices of Thais that make this place so great.
Julie crossing a street near the famous Chatuchuk markets
The new normal - items for sale on a dry footpath
Probably in the next couple of weeks most of the high water will make its way to the Gulf of Thailand and people will return to their homes and begin to dry out their belongings, clean their floors and walls and stoically get on with their lives. For those of us on the dry side of the walls we can donate time and money, as we are, and shake our head in wonder. Unbelievable.
If you want to see some of the video we took on our excursion last weekend I’ve loaded three clips on YouTube. You can search for BillJulieFlood1 and BillJulieFlood3 or click these URLs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkbblHLeTlQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLBbxZ_LAac
He looks a little uncertain of his new environment
She prefers to stay in the shallow end