We have been living in Bangkok for almost a week now and have seen no flooding and hardly and rain. It is almost hard to believe that there is a crisis going on at all. However, storefronts all over the city are lined with sandbags and others (who can afford it) have a freshly laid concrete wall surrounding the building.
The news is full of videos and photos of flooded areas outside the center followed by warnings that flood waters are coming our way.
The reason that Bangkok's center has not yet experienced flooding (despite low elevations) is that the city has a 75.8km flood-wall lining the banks of the Chao Phraya River. Additionally, the government built temporary walls around the city using sandbags. Here is a map showing Bangkok's elevations and the walls (red lines) around the city:
Because of these walls, the flood waters have been diverted from the city and have flooded areas surrounding the center which may otherwise have not flooded at all.
As of a few days ago, flood waters have began breaking down the temporary walls along the northern border of the city. Here is a map showing the flooded zones in the northern parts of the city center (we live in the yellow area):
The government has finally decided to drain flood waters into the city center's canals in hopes that the water will then drain into the sea. With the flood waters surging, some canals in the northern parts of the center have overflowed thus flooding the nearby areas.
The most recent news is that more water is flowing into the center than can be drained. We are told that about 4,000 million cubic meters of water will reach Bangkok tomorrow and that City Hall can only drain about 400 million cubic meters of water per day.
So, Richard, to answer your question... no flooding for us yet....
The reason that Bangkok's center has not yet experienced flooding (despite low elevations) is that the city has a 75.8km flood-wall lining the banks of the Chao Phraya River. Additionally, the government built temporary walls around the city using sandbags. Here is a map showing Bangkok's elevations and the walls (red lines) around the city:
As of a few days ago, flood waters have began breaking down the temporary walls along the northern border of the city. Here is a map showing the flooded zones in the northern parts of the city center (we live in the yellow area):
The most recent news is that more water is flowing into the center than can be drained. We are told that about 4,000 million cubic meters of water will reach Bangkok tomorrow and that City Hall can only drain about 400 million cubic meters of water per day.
So, Richard, to answer your question... no flooding for us yet....
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