Following on from our post yesterday, our man on the ground Brock Kuhlman gives this update on floods in and around Bangkok. As of this morning, the flooding in Bangkok and surrounding provinces is following the script to the letter. Flooding that was expected in Lak Si, Don Muang and Sai Mai districts to the … read the full post

You’re supposed to be arriving in Bangkok in the next few days and all you’ve read in the last week or so has centred on Bangkok’s efforts to reinvent itself as the true Venice of the East. You’re worried and thinking of cancelling your trip. Don’t — here’s why. Update October 25: Due to the … read the full post

The flood threat to Bangkok — while many areas elsewhere in Thailand are already suffering from devastating inundation — seemed to edge up yet another notch on Thursday, with authorities told to selectively open the city’s floodgates to help drain water into the sea. “This problem is very overwhelming. It’s a national crisis so I … read the full post

Seven outlying districts of Bangkok were told to move their belongings to higher ground Wednesday and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called for political differences to be put aside as the capital stares down the threat of inundation. According to the BBC, a warning to move upwards or outwards went out to residents of Sai … read the full post

by Hamish Chalmers What’s it like to be living through Thailand’s floods? Every year we get these reports of areas up-country being inundated with the annual monsoon run off, and we think ‘how awful’. And then we carry on with our lives. Not so this year. I live with my wife and our eight month … read the full post

Saturday and Sunday were supposed to be waiting Bangkokians’ Waterloo, with either victory or defeat delivered by the last high tide yesterday. It hasn’t panned out quite that way. Water has not moved quite as quickly as expected to the south and out into the Gulf of Thailand. Flood waters continue to press south, engulfing … read the full post

Since Monday, we’ve been saying that the next few days will be critical in determining the severity of the floods. Now it’s Saturday, and the forecast is still uncertain. Supermarket shelves have been re-stocked with noodles, and subsequently emptied. Consumer panic is on the rise, but no one really knows if the worst is over. … read the full post

Well, we’re here: it’s the first test. Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday’s high tides will be abnormally high, while the crest of flood waters from Thailand’s north will arrive in Bangkok at the same time. It will be the first in a series of challenges for the flood defenses deployed to keep (most) of Bangkok dry. … read the full post

As we wrote this post, authorities asked residents in some areas on the outskirts of Bangkok to evacuate after a flood levee reportedly collapsed. TAN Network said on its Twitter feed that the emergency flood centre advised that “the collapse of Banprao floodgate in Samkok, Pathum Thani may bring 1m floodwater to Rangsit, Saimai, Klongluang, … read the full post

The next couple of days will be key in seeing whether Bangkok escapes the worst of floods that have now swelled across two-thirds of Thailand, though even if the city eludes the waters, the last three days of October will be another test, authorities say. “Don’t underestimate the floods,” Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said according … read the full post