Photo: telegraph.co.uk

The flooding has inundated about six million hectares of land, of which over 300,000 hectares is farmland, in fifty-eight provinces, from Chiang Mai in the North to parts of the capital city of Bangkok. The floods often begin in the North and spread down the Chao Phraya River through the central plains, in the Northeast along the Chi and Mun Rivers flowing into the Mekong, or in the coastal hillsides of the East and South.

Remnants of tropical storms that strike Vietnam or the peninsular south commonly increase precipitation, resulting in further risk of flooding. Drainage control systems, including multiple dams, irrigation canals and flood detention basins, have been implemented, but are inadequate to prevent flood damage, especially to rural areas.

With the monsoon season well underway in 2011, major flooding began as Tropical Storm Nock-ten made landfall in Northern Vietnam, causing heavy precipitation in Northern and Northeastern Thailand and flash flooding in many provinces beginning 31 July.

Within one week thirteen had been reported dead, with ongoing flooding in the provinces of Chiang Mai, Lampang, Lamphun, Mae Hong Son, Nan, Phrae, and Uttaradit in the North, and Bung Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Nong Khai, Sakon Nakhon and Udon Thani in the upper Northeast. The upper-central provinces of Phichit, Phitsanulok, Sukhothai were also flooded as the flooding spread down the overflowing Yom and Nan Rivers. Prachuap Khiri Khan on the gulf coast was also affected.

Photo: worldnomads.com

Flooding was still ongoing by late August, as heavy rains were expected to continue further than usual due to the effect of La Niña. Flood-waters reached 50 cm in downtown Nan and already became the highest recorded in 16 years in Phitsanulok Province, while large areas in the downstream provinces of Nakhon Sawan, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya and Nakhon Nayok were being increasingly affected and the death toll continued to rise to 37 by 22 August. The Bhumibol and Sirikit Dams were increasing discharge rates to compensate for incoming flow.

By the beginning of October, most dams were already near- or over-capacity and being forced to increase their rates of discharge, potentially worsening downstream flooding.[11] Flooding in Ayutthaya worsened as flood water entered the city proper, inundating the Ayutthaya Historical Park and forcing evacuations. Barriers protecting industrial estates failed, resulting in flooding of dozens of major factories and country-wide disruption of manufacturing supply chains.

In Nakhon Sawan, the sandbag barrier protecting the city was breached, resulting in rapid flooding of the city. Hundreds of patients had to be transferred out of Ayutthaya and Nakhon Sawan Regional Hospitals by boat as water levels rose over the hospital floors and power supplies and life support systems were disrupted.

In Pathum Thani Province, continuous efforts to reinforce and repair sandbag flood walls were undertaken to prevent the Chao Phraya and Rangsit Canal from overflowing into Bangkok. Several districts in eastern Bangkok which lie outside Bangkok’s flood wall, as well as parts of the surrounding Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Chachoengsao and Nakhon Pathom Provinces, became flooded as water was diverted from the Chao Phraya to the Nakhon Nayok River and outlying canals. As of 13 October, concern is on the possible failure of the flood wall in Pathum Thani.

Photo: kapook.com

Thailand Flood Damage
The flooding has been described as “the worst flooding yet in terms of the amount of water and people affected”. As of 18 October, flooding has affected 2,484,393 people from 824,848 families, with 317 deaths and 3 missing persons reported by the 24/7 Emergency Operation Center for Flood, Storm and Landslide (EOC). Damage estimates of at least 185 billion Baht by the latest estimation by Federation of Thai Industry (Central region section) which includes 95 billion Baht damage on Thai industry, 25 billion Baht damage on Thai Agriculture and 65 billion Baht damage on the housing in the communities and suburb villages.

A large part of the damage stems from the affect on the manufacturing industry, with 930 factories in 28 provinces affected, including multiple industrial estates in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani Provinces which have been flooded. The flooding has been estimated to result in decrease 0.6 to 0.9 percent in economic growth. Schools, 1,053 of which have been affected as of 19 September, were forced to end the term early.

Major associated damage is to the job base that has been hurt because factories are flooded and many workers laid off or fired. Speculation has been voiced that some number of the factories may never open again, which will result in from some to significant job loss in Central Thailand. Further, due to agricultural lands being flooded, farmers along with those who work in the rice mills and paddy warehouses are out of work. Thailand poor are not known to keep a reserve of capital to tide them over emergency times, raising fears of hunger and a rising crime rate. Many of the rice fields have been damaged causing starvation.

Thailand’s new premier acknowledged Wednesday that the country’s flood crisis has overwhelmed her government, and she pleaded for mercy from the media and solidarity from the country in battling the relentless waters.

Photo: isnhotnews.com

In an emotional appearance before reporters, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said her administration is doing all it can and trying to be as clear as possible about where the flooding may strike next.

However, mixed messages from officials in recent days about whether the floodwaters will enter Bangkok have left people confused. A poll by ABAC, associated with Bangkok’s Assumption College, found that 87 percent of 415 people surveyed did not trust information from the government’s flood command center.

“We have been doing everything we can, but this is a big national crisis,” Yingluck said. “I’m begging for mercy from the media here.”

Sources: telegraph.co.uk, huffingtonpost.com, wikipedia.org, worldnomads.com

The helicopter was sent to pick up about 35 soldiers who patrolled the park as part of measures to combat illegal logging, but crashed near the location of pick-up.

The second helicopter is Black Hawk which is the best type owned by Thai Army. The Black Hawk helicopter was flying to retrieve the bodies of five military personnel killed in Saturday’s helicopter crash in Kaeng Krachan National Park.

On board were eight soldiers including the pilots and one Army TV Channel 5 cameraman. Meanwhile, rescue operations on Wednesday successfully retrieved five charred bodies of army officers killed in the military helicopter crash last Saturday.

The third helicopter is Bell 212.
On Sunday morning (July 24) Three helicopter transport to rescue the second helicopter (Black Hawk), but the last one was missing and down in Kanchanaburi also.

The Bell 212 helicopter from the Hua Hin Wing was flying on a mission to support operations to retrieve the bodies of an earlier Black Hawk crash when it lost balance, caught fire and fell onto a paddy field in Kaengkrachan district on Sunday morning, according to witnesses. Are these accidents by the magic?

Sources: mcot.net, thaivisa.com, wikimedia.org, worldnewsco.com

Photo: Yingluck Shinawatra

With Yingluck Shinawatra set to become Thailand’s first female prime minister, millions of Thais are celebrating the historic election results. According to unofficial poll numbers, her Pheu Thai party won a majority of parliamentary seats in the nation’s general elections on Sunday. Despite this, the country is as divided as ever, given that Yingluck is the younger sister of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup.

It was an exceptional result for Thailand’s opposition party Pheu Thai (for Thais) on July 3. By winning an overwhelming majority of the vote – almost 53% of all votes and 262 of the 536 seats in the parliament, this election might finally put in brackets 5 years of political turmoil in the kingdom. The ousting of ex-prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra through a military coup in September 2006 opened the doors to turbulences: 2 governments from Mr. Shinawatra collapsed while Bangkok airports were seized by a group of extreme conservative individuals called “Yellow Shirts” in December 2008.

Despite conciliatory efforts by outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to solve social tensions and unite the country, the political crisis reached its peak with the occupation of Bangkok’s business district by the so-called “Red Shirts” during 6 weeks in April/May 2010. Thasin Shinawatra built up its political success through populist measures aimed to help Thailand’s farmers and urban poors. But at the same time, Mr. Shinawatra alienated Thailand’s military and business elites who felt threatened by his own ambitions.

The election hopefully opens then a new era for Thailand. It shows first that despite all political maneuvers to distort democratic results, the majority of people still felt unfazed and confirmed once more their previous political choice. Second, big change is the likely choice of Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s sister, as Thailand’s Prime Minister. It will be the first time that a woman will hold this function in the kingdom, a sign of an opening society. And if military and other factions in the society play fair with the rules of the democratic game, it could also herald a new era of stability and prosperity. The big majority won by the Pheu Thai party could, in fact, help the future administration to be less prone to permanent compromises among various parties forming the governing coalition.

It could then be just a blessing for tourism, which was the sector suffering the most of turmoil over the recent years. Despite a remarkable resilience and quick recovery following all political crises, the kingdom’s instable image probably alienated some travelers – especially first-time visitors. As the Tourism Authority of Thailand recently announced its ambitious target to welcome 19 million foreign travelers by 2012 – up from 16 million last year – peace and stability in the kingdom and a clear long-term vision on tourism development are welcomed.

Photo: Ratchaprasong 2

The election hopefully opens then a new era for Thailand. It shows first that despite all political maneuvers to distort democratic results, the majority of people still felt unfazed and confirmed once more their previous political choice. Second, big change is the likely choice of Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s sister, as Thailand’s Prime Minister. It will be the first time that a woman will hold this function in the kingdom, a sign of an opening society. And if military and other factions in the society play fair with the rules of the democratic game, it could also herald a new era of stability and prosperity.

The big majority won by the Pheu Thai party could, in fact, help the future administration to be less prone to permanent compromises among various parties forming the governing coalition. It could then be just a blessing for tourism, which was the sector suffering the most of turmoil over the recent years. Despite a remarkable resilience and quick recovery following all political crises, the kingdom’s instable image probably alienated some travelers – especially first-time visitors.

As the Tourism Authority of Thailand recently announced its ambitious target to welcome 19 million foreign travelers by 2012 – up from 16 million last year – peace and stability in the kingdom and a clear long-term vision on tourism development are welcomed.

Sources: cnngo.com, edition.cnn.com, eturbonews.com

Photo: lifeasahuman.com

Santana was born in Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico. His father was a mariachi violinist, and Carlos learned to play the violin at age five and the guitar at age eight. His younger brother, Jorge Santana, would also become a professional guitarist.

In San Francisco, he got the chance to see his idols, most notably B.B. King, perform live. He was also introduced to a variety of new musical influences, including jazz and folk music, and witnessed the growing hippie movement centered in San Francisco in the 1960s. After several years spent working as a dishwasher in a diner and busking for spare change, Santana decided to become a full-time musician. In 1966, he gained prominence by a series of accidental events all happening on the same day.

With their highly original blend of Latin-infused rock, jazz, blues, salsa, and African rhythms, the band (which quickly became known simply as Santana) gained an immediate following on the San Francisco strip club. The band’s early success, capped off by a memorable performance at Woodstock in 1969, led to a recording contract with Columbia Records, then run by Clive Davis.

Sources: thaiticketmajor.com