Thailand’s floods

Rising damp

Waters threaten the capital, the economy and the new government

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Readers' comments



Yingnam Fong

Had the Thai government had a better foresight, the fisaco could have been avoided or at least mitigated. I recall that Thailand's neighbour, Malaysia has put in place a wonderful multi-function mega underground tunnel that could cater to traffic passage on the ordinary days and to change to serve as a huge drainage system during the heavy flooding situation. Malaysia is thus said to be free from the threat of flooding waters. Should Thailand go to KL to have a look at the system?


Flooding is a problem that has become very prevalent this year. Countries all along Southeast Asia have been affected by this. The floods in Thailand seem to have taken a bigger toll than in other countries. Thousands of people are out of jobs and multiple factories are left underwater. To make matters worse, the government seems to be at a standstill. Prime Minister Yingluck has not coordinated the response well at all. If Thailand wants to recover from this flooding, they need to work out an effective plan. It's going to take time to recover, but with a plan, problems can be resolved easier and Thailand's economy can get back on its feet.


Flooding has indeed been a major problem the past few years, affecting all regions of the world, especially Southeast Asia. The recent flooding in Thailand has caused widespread destruction within the capital city, Bangkok. While it is important to recognize the domestic consequences of the flooding in this area on society, an observer must also take into consideration the magnitude of the consequences in terms of foreign relations. The effected flood zone in Thailand holds claim to many notable foreign companies that produce several world-stage products, such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Canon. As the article mentions, "a quarter of Japan’s 2,000 manufacturers in Thailand, located in the vast industrial estates north of Bangkok, have been hit by the floods." The Thailand people have even gone as far as sending divers to salvage what little undamaged items remain. Desperate times do call for desperate matters; it is a shame and untimely, however, that such crisis has stricken the nation during Yingluck's first few months in charge as Thailand's Prime Minister.


Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra came into position at an unfortunate time – just like President Bush, or even President Obama (both concerning the war on terror) in the United States. Although Shinawatra’s situation does not concern violence and war, the situation he is dealing with is still of significant magnitude. Much economic and physical damage has resulted from all this flooding, and she will have to devise a solution that both saves the densely populated Bangkok and the surrounding suburbs. This is proving to be a difficult task.

The loss in economic stability in Bangkok affects all the surrounding areas as well – kind of like the United States’ well-being affects the rest of the western hemisphere (and the rest of the world). The decrease in production by Honda, Toyota, and Mitsubishi are examples of this. Although the prime minister hasn’t impressed her citizens with her reactions yet, time is still short. She can still improve her country’s predicament.

TheAnalyser in reply to catod916

$17 billion seems to be a good early estimate for the 2011 flood damage in Thailand, but what does a number like that mean?
Bangkok was also flooded in 1983 and 1995. Back then the damage were:
1983: 6.6 billion baht (~$265 million)
1995: Tens of billions of baht (~$1 billion)
The 2011 flood is big and the consequences of decades of poor urban planning will be felt by the Thai people for a long time.
Atlantis might be a better name for Thailand this year.
Good map of the flooded area:


Thailand is one of the most tourist places in Asia. People from all over Asia go there a lot and tourism is considered one of the most important source of money to the country. But after this recent flooding, the tourism in this country will get reduces in a massive way since a lot of embassies warn their people to not go there and since the alternatives are available so people will just not take a risky decision to go to Thailand at least for one or two years. Thailand should work hard to make people trust it again. Otherwise its development would be slower than what it was before the flooding.


Flooding has been a major problem this year. In fact, natural disasters have wreaked havoc all across the world in the past year. Many Asian countries have suffered from flooding problems and now Thailand is about to feel the impact of it. Dealing with natural disasters is always one of the hardest things for the government. They are so unpredictable and they can strike at any moment. They are doing the right thing it trying to protect the capital from flood waters. If the capital gets damaged or possibly destroyed, it will impact many people's jobs, the economy, etc. They need to think out their plan hard. If I was in their shoes, I would try to build some kind of "barrack" around the outer limits of the city. Putting up sand bags around the capital probably wont cut it. It is better to be safe than sorry. All in all, the flooding is going to destroy homes, businesses, etc. and it is going to make a lot of people unhappy. The flood waters are going to impact their lives and living situations. All we can do is just hope and pray that Thailand comes out okay after the food.


Too many cynical Thais thought nothing of installing in power a second-rate, Third-World, puppet government led by Thaksin's clueless sister. As prime minister, Yingluck has trouble stringing two sentences together in a cohesive manner even in her native Thai. Now they know that a lack of brain power in government is a real drag on national development.


Natural disasters have been a problem espescially in Asia. The problem with flooding ais it's a waiting game. The water doesn't miracously disappear and once you get rid of some usually there is more that hits. Water damage is caused and forces some places to close. Once factories close like Honda in Thailand, production isn't produced at maximum efficiency. This leads to a loss in production and earnings. Thailand is trying to preserve their capital Bangkok which makes sense because the heart of the economy lies here. The outskirts which are suburbs are being hit hard causing citizens to complain. It is better to steer the water to suburbs than the capital but to what point? As water builds up in people's houses, their support for the government and its decisions diminishes. Hopefully, water dries up and more decisions on where the water should go will be averted.


I am interested to see how Thailand will respond to the flooding as a country. Many states have suffered natural disasters this year and it is interesting to note the differences in responses. For instance, in Turkey after the earthquakes, the Prime Minister rejected aid from most states who offered it in order to emphasize Turkey's force. Thailand will probably not do the same thing. Any and all money/aid offered to them by other countries, mostly countries with interests in companies based out of Bangkok, will probably be accepted. Thailand's economy is going to be in serious trouble for the next few months. Ms Yingluck has a full plate.


Since flooding has been such an issue around the world, it will be interesting to see how Thailand is able to handle environmental disasters. How a country deals with disasters reveals a lot about their stability. Thailand's government may be thrown into a delicate situation with the flood hitting, and they may go one of two ways. Either they will handle the flooding well and independently deal with the situation, or (unfortunately) the flooding will send the country into economic turmoil.


Many countries are trying to rebound from natural disasters that occurred this past year. In Thailand's case, they are trying to recover from flooding at their national capital, Bangkok. The floods have put thousands of people out of jobs. The concept of moving the water out of the city to the suburbs may be a better idea than most think. Although the inhabitants of the suburbs will be unhappy, Bangkok is where the heart of the economy is and it has more importance than the suburbs. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra may have been elected by a landslide, but how the economy recovers will be a true test to see how much support she has.


Wow, what a baptism of fire for Yingluck Shinawatra the new prime minister, who just came to power in August.

The floods have really been exacerbated by the almost inexplicable incompetence of the water management policy of the previous government, under the stewardship of Abhisit Vejjajiva, before they handed over in August.

There are a sequence of dams whose purpose is to store water during the wet season and release during the dry season but from March to July this year these Dams only stored water which means that come August, when under normal circumstances they would store water to alleviate flooding, they were already 100% full and actually forced to release water and make the situation much worse.

The people in the previous Abhisit Vejjajiva administration who were responsible for this are at best criminally negligent and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Allen Jang

Flooding has been a world wide issue this decade. Unfortunately, South East Asia has been affected the most out of all the regions in the world. The government, especially the leaders has to make thoughtful and reasonable decisions that will help the country "rebound" back to its original state. People will lose jobs and homes, and as a result the government needs to provide the people with shelter and aid. Thailand's economy will be affected by the flood and will need to quickly think of a way to gain support and restoration before its too late.


Mother nature seems to have taken a liken to flooding this year. And while countries should be properly prepared for all types of emergencies, it is always going to be difficult to handle when they occur unexpectedly--and with such great force. Thailand's economy is going to hurt not only from the loss of production facilities, but the loss of workers as well. Hundreds of people have lost their lives and thousands are now displaced. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has a tough task in front of her, but if she can keep Thailand afloat (literally...), she will garner even more respect from her people than she had during the election process.


The flood is really washing away Thailand's economy. With the water headed toward Bangkok, Thailand's capital, it is going to be difficult for business' to keep afloat. Not only will this flood stall production and damage profits, it will also destroy land, infrastructure, and personnel. It will take time and money to repair the damages and bring the economy back.


During Peua Thai's electioneering, questions were raised about Yingluck Shinawatra's qualifications to lead the country. After all, she had previously had one job, in charge of her older brother's company and been a politician for only 2 months.

It's therefore no surprise that mismanagement, lack of communication and poor leadership have exacerbated the flooding situation.


This flooding has caused a terrible situation in Thailand. Flooding in the capital of Bangkok, the heart of the economy, has caused serious damage. It is always difficult for the leader to manage natural disasters like this one, and the timing has made it worse for Thailand's new leader. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is faced with tough decisions to try to alleviate the damage. It's just unfortunate that whatever decision is made, someone will be hurt. I would say that Thailand's main priority should be the protection of its capital because Bangkok is the center of their economy. They should try to minimize the amount of water in the capital, even if it means a little more flooding in other areas. Some people outside the capital will be unhappy, but I think this would be best as long as lives are not in danger. We will see how Yingluck goes about the situation, already this being her first big test for Thailand.


flooding and natural disasters are trumping the land this year. The global economy is already in bad condition but adding natural disasters brings it to a whole other level of economic crisis. Thailand's prospected economic growth has been cut in half and Japan, who is already still devastated by the nuclear power plant incident, is being affected as well. In this ever growing global economy, as seen many times this year, when one country of semi relevance is affected usually a domino effect occurs and all other states are effected in some way. This can be seen as good or bad. Right now the obvious answer is bad. However because of the interconnectedness this causes an intermestic relations among states causing states to look out for one another because it might affect them.


Flooding is a major problem this year. Pakistan is suffering from flooding and government problems, and now Thailand is now suffering from flooding too. Figuring out how to deal with flooding is always a difficult decision to make as a leader. If they allow the capital to flood, a huge number of people will be affected by the waters. If they divert some of it around the city and block the water from coming into the city, the people outside the city will be flooded. Either decision that is made will make some people unhappy, but they need to try their best to minimize the amount of flooding in the capital.



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