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Thailand Floods Thread


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***ADMINISTRATOR NOTE***

BEER IS AND WILL BE IN SHORT SUPPLY

I ask everyone to stay calm as we await more information on this crisis.

"Brewers tackles beer shortage, but water is priority

KWANCHAI RUNGFAPAISARN

THE NATION

It is not only essential products such as drinking water that are disappearing from retail shelves, as major brewers have acknowledged a shortage of beer at many stores in Bangkok due to the flooding, which has completely disrupted their logistics systems.

Beverage-makers have been allocating more working resources to bottled drinking water, which is an essential product in great demand from flood-hit consumers.

However, the companies have committed to improving the beer shortage significantly within a month, when the flood water has receded and their logistics systems are back to normal.

Chatchai Wiratyosin, marketing director for Singha Corp, yesterday said one of the main problems was that the company cannot deliver its beverages to retailers' warehouses and distribution centres, which have been seriously affected by the floods.

"Many transport routes in Bangkok and the suburbs have been cut or blocked by flood waters," he said.

The problem of zero supplies at many retail outlets throughout Bangkok is also caused by the temporary shutdown of Singha's major brewery in Pathum Thani.

"It is also quite difficult to deliver beers from our Khon Kaen factory to Bangkok. Our priority has been to bring drinking water from the plant, which is essential and needed by those affected by the flooding," Chatchai said.

The shortage of Singha's beer is expected to last for about a month, he added, until the flood water |has declined and the logistics system has returned to normal.

THAIBEV'S LOGISTICS WOES

Thai Beverage's two beer and drinking-water factories, at Bang Ban and Wang Noi in Ayutthaya, have been blocked by the flood water, with transport to and from the facilities completely cut.

Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, president and chief executive officer, yesterday said the beer shortage was caused by logistics problems, as the company could not deliver to retail stores.

He said the lead time for distributing beverage products from its plants in Ayutthaya to Bangkok had increased from two and a half hours on average to between six and eight hours because of the floods.

Distribution from its Kamphaeng Phet factory takes even longer, having increased from six and a half hours to 10. Thapana said ThaiBev had made the production of bottled drinking water its priority, as it is a vital need for people hit by the flooding.

"We are even looking at using glass beer bottles to contain water if the shortage of drinking water becomes more severe," he added.

He said that to ease the problem, the company had joined with modern-trade retailers, such as 7-Eleven, in distributing its products directly to their logistics hubs.

ThaiBev has moved its sales and logistics sites from Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road and Lak Si to Chon Buri to avoid any flood impact.

"We expect the shortage of our beer products at major retail outlets will last a month, until the beverage factories in Bang Ban and Wang Noi are back to normal operations," Thapana said."

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Yingluck: West might be flooded into New Year

Published: 15/11/2011 at 05:22 PM

Online news: Transport

The west of Bangkok might remain flooded until after the New Year, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Tuesday.

"I don't want the flood situation to extend into next year because I want see Thai people happy, but in principle I'm not confident about the situation in the west of Bangkok," Ms Yingluck said.

The premier said she had assigned Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit to look into the remedial measures for flood-hit households and the possibility of giving more than 5,000 baht to each household affected by flooding for more than seven days.

She also confirmed the Justice Ministry's Department of Special Investigation will investigate the allegations of corruption in the procurement of relief items.

On the Lawyers Council's plan to take legal action against the government for mishandling the flood, Mr Yingluck said, "We'll have to be patient, but we're ready to prove and provide the information."

Royal Irrigation Department chief Chalit Damrongsak said a total of 660 water pumps, with a combined capacity to drain 123 million cubic metres of water per day, have been installed along the two banks of the Chao Phraya River.

He said the situation had begun to return to normal in provinces north of Bangkok and the overall flood situation was improving steadily.

Of the 660 pumps, 387 were permanently installed at pumping stations and 273 others had been moved from provinces where there was no flooding for temporary use.

Of the total, 336 pumps had been installed along the western side and 324 on the eastern side of the river.

Mr Chalit said these pumps were being used on rotation to make sure floodwater was drained out around the clock.

The Traffic Police Division reported this afternoon that the flood level on sections of Ratchadaphisek and Lat Phrao roads had receded.

The water level on Lat Phrao Road from the Ratchadaphisek-Lat Phrao intersection to Lat Phrao Soi 39 (Soi Phawana) was down to 30cm; the water on Ratchadaphisek Road from the intersection down to Khlong Bang Sue near the Chao Phraya Park hotel also fell to 30cm.

But the roads were still impassable to small vehicles.

At the Lak Si circle, or the Constitution Monument, the water level was still high this morning.

The traffic surface around the circle was 60 to 70cm under water. It was impassable to small vehicles, reports said.

People in the area believed the high level of water was caused by the opening of a section of the barrier of big bags along Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Don Muang district.

On Vibhavadi Rangsit Road from the five-way Lat Phrao intersection to Khlong Bang Sue, the floodwater was spreading to cover the surface of the outer frontage lanes. This part of the road was dry yesterday.

Small vehicles could now use Lat Phrao road. The deepest water, about 10cm, was in the vicinity of Soi Lat Phrao 43.

Many evacuees had returned to their houses in this area for clean-up work, the reports said.

In Thon Buri's Bang Khun Thian district, the water in Soi 69 off Rama II Road was 1.0 to 1.2m deep and was rising, but the main road was still dry and open to traffic.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/transport/266404/yingluck-west-might-be-flooded-into-new-year

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Suvarnabhumi arrivals down 25%

Published: 15/11/2011 at 04:46 PM

Online news: Aviation

The number of tourist arrivals at Suvarnabhumi airport had dropped from an average 130,000 a day to about 100,000 because of foreign tourists' concerns about the widespread flooding, the airport's acting director Somchai Sawasdipol said on Tuesday.

"They were uncertain about the flood situation and postponed their planned trips to Thailand for the time being," he said.

Mr Somchai said the Airports of Thailand Plc had sent letters to various embassies, including Russia, Taiwan, Britain, Canada and Japan, assuring them that Suvarnabhumi has not been affected by the flood and is still providing services as usual.

As for flood-ravaged Don Mueang airport, government spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng said the government will spend about 1.38 billion baht to renovate it.

Ms Thitima said the cabinet meeting today approved the Transport Ministry's airport and roads renovation proposal.

A budget of 935 million baht will be used for revamping the country's major domestic airport and repairing its runways and car parks. Another budget of 445 million baht will be spent on renovating the airport's number one terminal, she said.

The government has also allocated 11.89 billion baht to repair 708 major roads damaged by the flooding. A budget of 4.59 billion baht will be used to repair 549 rural roads, she said.

The cabinet instructed the Transport Ministry to draw up a spending plan and propose it to the next cabinet meeting, the spokeswoman said.

Industry Minister Wannarat Channukul said restoration of damaged facilities at flooded industrial estates in Ayutthaya province has made considerable progress and many factories were expected to resume production early next month.

He said floodwater had been completely drained from Factory Land industrial estate. Twelve of the 70 factories in it had already resumed production. The rest were expected to again be operational late this month or early next month.

Floodwater in Bang Pa-in industrial estate was expected to be drained off by Nov 20 to 22. By Dec 1 to 5, 60 to 70 out of the 90 factories in it were likely to resume production.

Hi-Tech industrial estate was expected to be dry by Nov 25 and all factories would resume operations in early December.

As for Rojana Industrial Park, floodwater in all the three phases of it was being pumped out. It was expected to be dry by Nov 30 and resume production in early December as well.

At Saha Rattananakhon industrial estate the water level was stilll higher than the top of the flood dyke. The road between Bang Pahan and Bang Dua would be cut open to drain water out. Pumping water out of the estate would begin in early December and was expected to be completed in one week.

Mr Wannarat dismissed as untrue a report that factory operators at Saha Rattananakhon industrial estate had accused the government of not being sincere about helping them.

The overall damage to the flood-hit industrial estates would be assessed after all of them have been fully restored, he said.

In Pathum Thani, the water levels at Bang Kradee and Navanakhon industrial estates were still higher than the earth dykes around them. Restoration work at these two estates would begin after the floodwater had receded.

As for Bang Chan and Lat Krabang industrial estates east of Bangkok, the water levels around them had been stabilised.

The minister said he was confident no other industrial estates would be flooded.

He said the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) was sending 10 large water pumps to help restore the flood-hit industrial estates. They were scheduled to arrive at Laem Chabang deep-sea port on Nov 17 and would be distributed quickly.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/transport/266402/suvarnabhumi-arrivals-down-25

It kind of pisses me off when the government falls all over itself to tell people that the airport is still open. Sure, but other parts of the country aren't open. It's not just the physical ability to get in and out of the country that is slowing down arrivals. It's also the fact that once they get here do they want to spend their holiday in a country where people are trying to deal with this disaster.

My guess is most of the cancellations are from people at two sides of the extreme. One side is frequent visitors who can always just come some other time after things get sorted out. The other are the people on their "once in a lifetime" visit to Thailand who would rather not spend their hard earned cash to travel to a country in the middle of a disaster. They can always push it until next year (or the year after or . . . ).

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How about helping with the post-flood cleanup?

Published: 15/11/2011 at 01:46 PM

Online news: Opinion

Flooded homes need to be cleaned up to become liveable again, and many of them also need repairs, but the work may be too much for householders who do not have domestic staff to help them.

There are many popular sayings associated with home -- “Home sweet home”, “There is no place like home”, "Peace – that was the other name for home”, "Life’s voyage, which is homeward bound” and “Home is paradise” to give just a few.

But the current great flood has turned many homes upside down, making them unliveable and forcing tens of thousands of affected families to take refuge in temporary shelters provided by the government or charitable organisations.

The damage done to these properties varies from house to house, depending on how long they were flooded and how deep the water. In money terms the true cost may never be known, but it is certainly astronomical.

The 5,000 baht handout promised by the government for each flooded household is nowhere near the real cost to those households flooded for a long time. The families will have to dig deep into their pockets to pay the bills incurred in making their homes livable again. Many will have to seek loans from a bank or from a loan shark if they don’t have credit worthiness.

But the first priority for all affected residents is to clean up their flooded houses to make them livable, at the least, even if they cannot restore all the comforts and conveniences they used to enjoy.

The immediate cleanup includes washing away all the dirt that came with the floodwaters, mopping or scrubbing the floor, scrubbing the walls, moving furniture and appliances such as refrigerators outside so they can dry out in the sun, and hopefully be usable again. It's a daunting undertaking which may take more than just a few days.

Large families and those with maids and other household help will find the job less taxing, but for singles or married couples without any helpers it will be a very demanding task.

Outside help would make the job easier, but the problem is that few people would trust strangers into their homes to do the cleanup.

The extraordinary volunteer spirit shown by many young men and women during the flood - in the ways they helped fill and place sandbags, package and distribute relief supplies to flood victims could also play a role in the cleanup effort after the flood has receded.

It would be a great pity that this spirit is also allowed to flow away as the water recedes, because the hardship is not over for the flood victims.

Obviously, the government and state agencies have thought about helping in the cleanup, but they appear to be far more concerned with other rehabilitation and reconstruction jobs which are deemed more important. That does not mean that they cannot offer a helping hand.

It is an additional but very rewarding job which would be greatly appreciated by the affected households. The question is, which agency is going to organise the effort?

At a less complicated level, this can be done by employers as part of the corporate social responsibility programme, and there must surely be several employees whose houses are flooded in each company.

It could be given a name like “friends help friends” - a programme under which office workers who escaped the ravages of the flood could help their affected fellow workers in the cleanup of their homes. This would provide a good opportunity for employees to get closer to one another and to become friends instead of just being office colleagues.

The goodness of ordinary Thais, which was shown in their spontaneous outpouring of compassion and willingness to pitch in a help, should be kept alive a bit longer. They have yet another undertaking to fulfill – to help with the cleanup, so our less fortunate compatriots can once again enjoy going "home".

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/266374/how-about-helping-in-post-flood-cleanup

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[h=2]"PT MPs propose new capital city[/h]

Twenty MPs of the ruling Pheu Thai Party have signed a motion for an urgent debate on a proposal that the House of Representatives to set up a committee to study the possible relocation of the capital to another province less prone to flooding.

The 20 MPs were led by Sathaporn Maneerat of Lamphun province.

Mr Sathaporn said the motion would be submitted to government whips for consideration on Wednesday, Nov 16.

The proposed motion says climate change has caused a variety of natural disasters, including flooding, land subsidence, earthquakes and tsunami, resulting in considerable damage requiring huge sums of money for restoration work.

Bangkok is sinking about 20cm per year, according to the proposed motion. When this was coupled with global warming, which caused higher sea tides, Bangkok could be submerged.

Therefore, the capital should be relocated from Bangkok to a more suitable province, which may be Nakhon Nayok, Phetchabun, or elsewhere.

Mr Sathaporn said during the Thaksin Shinawatra government there was a proposal for the capital to be relocated to Nakhon Nayok, where water can be quickly drained because of its sloping terrain, and the National Economic and Social Development Board was instructed to conduct a primary study on doing so.

Moreover, a new capital would be more suited for the "New Thailand" concept than Bangkok, where nothing is new, he said.

Nakhon Nayok, in particular, was ideal as a new center of the economy, transport, communications and other sectors, since it as not far from Suvarnabhumi airport.

Phetchabun was also a good choice, otherwise former prime minister Plaek Pibulsongkhram would not have floated an idea some time ago to make it the capital, he said."

Pretty amazing that climate change is now causing earthquakes. Amazing in so many ways.

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Phetchabun? Really? Ked's family home should become worth a fortune! :-)

What's interesting is that the proposal makes some sense. Things are just going to keep getting worse in Bangkok as the ground keep sinking and global warming raises the sea level.

But, man, can you think of the cost of relocating the capital? Wow. Plus they would need to link the old and new capital together via trains and such. Think about how long it takes them to extend the BTS or MRT a single stop. Not imagine building a link across several hundred kilometers.

Certainly a big challenge.

[h=2]"PT MPs propose new capital city[/h]

Twenty MPs of the ruling Pheu Thai Party have signed a motion for an urgent debate on a proposal that the House of Representatives to set up a committee to study the possible relocation of the capital to another province less prone to flooding.

The 20 MPs were led by Sathaporn Maneerat of Lamphun province.

Mr Sathaporn said the motion would be submitted to government whips for consideration on Wednesday, Nov 16.

The proposed motion says climate change has caused a variety of natural disasters, including flooding, land subsidence, earthquakes and tsunami, resulting in considerable damage requiring huge sums of money for restoration work.

Bangkok is sinking about 20cm per year, according to the proposed motion. When this was coupled with global warming, which caused higher sea tides, Bangkok could be submerged.

Therefore, the capital should be relocated from Bangkok to a more suitable province, which may be Nakhon Nayok, Phetchabun, or elsewhere.

Mr Sathaporn said during the Thaksin Shinawatra government there was a proposal for the capital to be relocated to Nakhon Nayok, where water can be quickly drained because of its sloping terrain, and the National Economic and Social Development Board was instructed to conduct a primary study on doing so.

Moreover, a new capital would be more suited for the "New Thailand" concept than Bangkok, where nothing is new, he said.

Nakhon Nayok, in particular, was ideal as a new center of the economy, transport, communications and other sectors, since it as not far from Suvarnabhumi airport.

Phetchabun was also a good choice, otherwise former prime minister Plaek Pibulsongkhram would not have floated an idea some time ago to make it the capital, he said."

Pretty amazing that climate change is now causing earthquakes. Amazing in so many ways.

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Phetchabun? Really? Ked's family home should become worth a fortune! :-)

What's interesting is that the proposal makes some sense. Things are just going to keep getting worse in Bangkok as the ground keep sinking and global warming raises the sea level.

But, man, can you think of the cost of relocating the capital? Wow. Plus they would need to link the old and new capital together via trains and such. Think about how long it takes them to extend the BTS or MRT a single stop. Not imagine building a link across several hundred kilometers.

Certainly a big challenge.



It's dreams......and trying to fish in political waters

BKK never will move unless it is going under in reality.
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BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a $10 million aid package for flood-ravaged Thailand on Wednesday during a visit to express solidarity.

Clinton met with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra as flooding continued to plague areas around Bangkok, the capital.

Thai authorities announced, however, that water in the capital is receding and all main streets will be dry in two weeks, providing good news after months of floods that have killed 564 people nationwide.

Some 20 of Thailand's 77 provinces have been hit by floods since late July, mostly in northern and central areas, and more than one-fifth of the country's 64 million people have been affected. The flooding has scared away tens of thousands of tourists.

Thailand is a long-standing U.S. ally. Clinton is in the region to attend a Southeast Asian summit in Bali, Indonesia.

"During the past century we have stood by each other in times of challenge and we are proud to stand by you now in this time of challenge, as you contend with the worst floods in your nation's history," she said in a news conference with the Thai leader.

She said the U.S. was providing both military and civil assistance "to save and restore lives and to support Thailand's long-term rebuilding and recovery," and that teams were currently assessing how best to help.

The U.S. is already providing medical assistance and the U.S. Navy ship Lassen is in a Thai port with crew and helicopters to help relief efforts, Clinton said.

She said the U.S. would help reopen Bangkok's inundated Don Muang domestic airport and rehabilitate flooded police stations.

Washington is also consulting with the Thai government on how to restore important cultural sites, such as the ancient capital of Ayutthaya, which is in one of the most badly hit areas.

Clinton is to visit a flood victims evacuation center on Thursday. Also in town was U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who visited some flood-affected areas Wednesday.

Many areas remain flooded, especially those to the west and east of Bangkok, and it is still expected to take weeks for all that water to reach the Gulf of Thailand. The runoff spread to some sections of Rama II, a major road in Bangkok, but vehicles were still able to drive through, officials said.

But the government appears to have averted a worst-case scenario in which the densely populated and economically critical center of Bangkok would have succumbed.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority said the overall situation in the capital is improving quickly, especially in Don Muang, where the domestic airport is located, and Lad Phrao, a district studded with office towers, condominiums and a popular shopping mall.

Lad Phrao intersection is expected to be totally dry by this weekend, and all other main streets will be back to normal within two weeks, Bangkok Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra said.

Many Bangkok neighborhoods have been under knee-deep, and even waist-high, water for weeks.

But government efforts to pump the water into the Chao Phraya river seem to be paying off, according to the latest reports.

http://news.yahoo.com/us-announces-10-million-thai-flood-relief-package-160656361.html

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