Step 4: The flood

11 PM Thursday:

"Thai Prime Minister Asks Bangkok to Open All Floodgates" - PM warns Bangkok to Brace for Flooding.

"Flood waters are coming from every direction and we cannot control them because it's a huge amount of water. We will try to warn people. The longer we block the water the higher it gets. We need areas that water can be drained through so the water can flow out to the sea" - Yingluck Shinaawatra - Prime Minister of Thailand.

In other news, we hit the jackpot at 7 Eleven tonight. It was our fourth stop looking for water and we arrived just after the pallet of water. A number of bottling plants are flooded so supply is very tight right now. Combine that with the 15 million people hoarding food and water and critical supplies are very hard to find right now. We are supplied for about 2 weeks right now. We are filling the bathtub now as an emergency reserve.

Bangkok Declared Safe?

Good news as yesterday the Thai government declared that the surge of water from the north had passed Bangkok and the governments effort to save the city was a success!

This map illustrates why I do not believe the government

The Thai government handling of the flood crisis here has been abysmal. Rather than focusing on providing accurate information, the government leaders are more focused on protecting their personal assets and positioning themselves well politically. The basic model outlined below has been repeated dozens of times over the last 2 weeks.

Step 1: Announce the government will do everything in its power to save "location x"

Step 2: Declare the governments actions were successful in saving "location x"

Step 3: Announce that despite the excellent efforts to save "location x" it is still at slight risk

Step 4: "Location x" is completely inundated with flood water

Example: Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate

Step 1 (Oct 14) "Oldest Industrial Estate Battles On"

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/261399/oldest-industrial-estate-battles-on

Step 2 (Oct 16): "Nava Nokorn Safe"

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/261621/nava-nakorn-afe

Step 3 (Oct 17): "Nava Nakorn On The Verge"

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/261742/navanakorn-on-the-verge

Step 4 (Oct 17): "Prime Minister Sorry Nava Nakorn Flooded"

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/261767/pm-sorry-for-navanakorn

Today Bangkok's governor declared that Bangkok may still be in danger. This sounds an awful lot like we just moved on to step 3.

11 Minutes

Saturday:

Delivered 18 L of water to Puk + 6 bags of food

Bought Puk a small plastic boat - he stopped crying

Otherwise a normal day, lots of rain...

Sunday:

1:00 AM: 4 inches of water in the road.

1:31 AM: Lost power for the first time

1:42 AM: Power back on, going to try and sleep.

~Greg

Still Dry in Bangkok

Where is the flood? Not in Bangkok, at least not yet. Government officials say that Bangkok will not flood, but they've said that about a lot of other places that are now flooded in the last week.

The Chao Phraya River is normally 200-300 meters wide. In places it is now 200 kilometers wide.

Here's a map showing where in Thailand there is currently flooding.

And here's a the status of flooding in the greater Bangkok Area

The flood prevention plan for Bangkok involves re-directing water around the east and west sides of the city through the many irrigation canals. I'm skeptical to say the least.

This weekend could get interesting as the peak flow of water starts reaching Bangkok. Ocean tides will also be at peak levels this weekend (Bangkok is only 2 meters above sea level). This will slow the rate at which water is flowing out out to sea. And of course, it still has not stopped raining...

Thursday Update

Greg just said to me, "I need to stop checking the news sites. It's like a bad traffic accident and you can't look away." That's how we a feeling about things near us right now.

I spent the day at home today battling a case of 24 hour stomach flu. One of the things I did between naps is sign up for a twitter account to follow flood news. Great to keep informed, not great to get away from it all. We are still dry here as reports about flooding get closer and closer to the city. I plan on returning to school tomorrow for the last day of the first half term. Next week I have off. Who knows what that will bring.

Greg spent another day working from home and from a make shift office in Bangkok. Right now their focus is protecting the plant from looters. With a local hired boat, a team of people will go investigate tomorrow. One of their main concerns includes protecting themselves from wildlife that may have found refuge in the plant. The team that was rescued earlier this week saw 1 king cobra swimming in the water and there are reports of crocodiles as well.

Thank you for all of our friends, family, and just blog followers who have kept us, our driver, and all Thais in their prayers. Keep them coming!

The Plan

I've never been happier to hear the the familiar voice on the other end of the line say "Hi boss, this is Puk."

Puk is okay. He is at the shop he owns in central Ayutthaya along with a few of his workers, protecting the shop from looting. He has run out of food, water, and money. With the help of a Thai friend, emergency provisions are now on the way. Puk will be taking a boat to the nearest dry land a few kilometers away to pick up emergency provisions before heading back to his shop.

Over the next day or two am getting an aid package together for him. Tentative plans are to try and make it up to him on Friday or Saturday with whatever food and water I can find on the empty shelves of Bangkok.

Instant noodles?

Not much bread either.

Puk

I just recieved a text message from message from my driver Puk. First contact in almost a week.

"Boss. How are you. I'm very troublesome. I now lack food and water."

I texted him back asking how I can help.