Flood Barriers Hold Firm in Shielding Bangkok - ABC News

According to this news article from ABC, the residents of Bangkok are hoping that a series of dams, canals and tunnels spares the city from this year's intense flooding that has caused catastrophic damage to Thailand's rice-basket region, just upstream from Bangkok. Recent news reports have shown footage of residents in Ayutthaya using boats to travel down the city's streets.

This seems like deja vu. Exactly four years ago, I wrote this blog post: Flooding in Phitsanulok, Thailand. My wife says that her family in Ban Dong Phayom (Phitsanulok Province) has been hit hard by the flooding. Houses are raised on piles in the rural farming village where she grew up. Even so, her brothers and sisters have reported that the water level has risen enough to enter a large percentage of the elevated dwellings.



Typical home in Ban Dong Phayom. Photo by Kevin Borland.

My newphew's wife just sent me these photos she took near her home in Nonthaburi. Nonthaburi is just northwest of Bangkok.

Chao Phraya Watershed

The expanse of the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries, i.e. the Chao Phraya river system, together with the land upon which falling rain drains into these bodies of water, form the Chao Phraya watershed. The Chao Phraya watershed is the largest watershed in Thailand, covering approximately 35% of the nation's land, and draining an area of 157,924 km². The watershed is divided into the following basins:

*Pa Sak Basin
*Sakae Krang Basin
*Greater Nan Basin (comprising the Nan Basin and the Yom Basin, and usually divided as such in drainage analyses)
*Greater Ping Basin (comprising the Ping Basin and the Wang Basin, and usually divided as such in drainage analyses)
*Tha Chin Basin (the basin of the Chao Phraya's most significant distributary)
*Chao Phraya Basin (the land drained by the Chao Phraya River itself, and not by its major tributaries)

The mountainous natural boundary of the watershed forms a divide, which has, to some degree, historically isolated Thailand from other Southeast Asian civilizations. In fact, in northern Thailand, the divide roughly corresponds to a long section of the political border of present-day Thailand. Southern portions of the divide's boundary correspond less to the nation's political border, because isolation in this area was prevented by the ease of transportation along the lowlands surrounding the Gulf of Thailand, allowing a unified Thai civilization to extend beoynd the watershed without issue.

2007 Flooding in Phitsanulok, Thailand

Deforestation and urban development along the river banks in the region, combined with seasonal downpours in the Phetchabun Mountains have led to severe flooding in recent years within the province. Flooding in the province in 2007 was described by the Bangkok post as the worst floods in 40 years. On October 4, 2007, 100 rescue workers and 100 soldiers were dispatched to assist stranded residents in tambon Chompu and tambon Ban Mung, where water levels rose more than a meter. On that same day, Phitsanulok Governor Somboon Sripattanawat declared the Noen Maprang District a disaster zone. On October 6, 2007, Pongsagorn Kaenmanee, age 9 was among the first to drown in the flood waters. By October 8, 2007, the floods had killed at least three people in the Wang Thong District, and that district, in addition to Noen Maprang, was declared a disaster zone. On October 8, 2007, Deputy Prime Minister and Social Development and Human Security minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham visited the Phitsanulok Province to assess and address the flooding issues in the province. On October 10, 2007, the Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation sent boats out to deliver food and water supplies to residents of Bang Krathum District, which was cut off by floods. On October 12, 2007, the flooding took the life of a fifth villager in the province, who drowned after being swept away while he was rowing his boat to cast a fishing net. On October 14, 2007, flood water pressure sent inflows through the Mueang Phitsanulok Municipality's sewage system, flooding three communities. On October 15, 2007, the Royal Irrigation Department announced plans to construct six dams on the Wang Thong River as an attempt to solve the problem of seasonal flooding. On October 16, 2007 Thung Salaeng Luang National Park was temporarily closed for fear that tourists may become trapped in its caves by flood waters (This was prompted by an incident in Surat Thani's Khao Sok National Park where a group of cave exploring tourists drowned). A meeting of senior officials is scheduled for October 31, 2007 to discuss the progress of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the dam proposal. At least one of the dams will be in Thung Salaeng Luang National Park, but officials ensure that it will not be built in a wildlife sanctuary area. Flooding in the region is a recurring problem in Phitsanulok Province this time of year. In 2006, for example, between August 20 and December 13, over 22,000 people in 70 villages within Phitsanulok were affected by flooding, and over 1800 acres of farmland and 194 roads within the province were submerged by flood waters.

Kevin as Lunch Lady in Thailand

I tried my hand as a lunch lady at a grade-school in rural Thailand. I also gave some English lessons to some of the locals. Even speaking decent Thai, I stuck out like a sore thumb, especially since I towered over the average villager by about a foot. The children were receptive, and eager to try out the few English words they learned at school. I also tried my hand at rice farming, digging drainage ditches, and arm wrestling. My height advantage rendered me undefeated against even the most buff of rice farmers.

Just Married

Just married, Thai style. Ms. Thidawan Ruasamran is now Mrs. Thidawan Borland. The family package includes Thidawan's 6 year-old son, Jaras.