A return to normality is likely to take at least 6 weeks. Efforts are now concentrated on avoiding flooding in the centre of the capital, Bangkok, whose economic weight represents more than 40% of Thailand’s GDP. The city is
A return to normality is likely to take at least 6 weeks. Efforts are now concentrated on avoiding flooding in the centre of the capital, Bangkok, whose economic weight represents more than 40% of Thailand’s GDP. The city is completely encircled by water and the authorities face a conjuncture of heavy rains, a high tide preventing the flow of the water towards the sea and the massive arrival of water from the North and centre of the flooded country.
Bangkok has been protected by huge sandbag walls to the detriment of the neighbouring provinces and the modest populations who live there. Inside this belt, the water cannot flow towards the sea. It can reach heights of more than one metre, submerging the surrounding houses. The tensions and resentment are palpable and the army has been deployed to protect the makeshift dykes.
The government has been subject to severe criticism for the tardy implementation of aid deemed to be relatively ineffective. Beyond this crisis, it is the management of water as a whole which has to be reviewed. The department of irrigation of the hydrology and water management office has for several months maintained very high water levels on the dams on the Ping and Nan rivers which flow into the Chao Phraya river which traverses Bangkok. The water contained had to be released at the worst time accentuating the floods upstream and worsening the situation around the capital.
The material damage is very considerable and the economic consequences are already being felt. Houses 