Suttinee Yuvejwattana and Supunnabul Suwannakij Bloomberg BusinessWeek 10 Oct 11;
Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Thai officials rushed to reinforce barriers and widen canals in Bangkok on concern the nation’s worst floods in more than half a century may spread to the capital later this week.
The deluge swept across the country starting in late July, killing 269 people, swamping factories operated by Honda Motor Co., Nikon Corp. and Canon Inc. and damaging more than 10 percent of rice farms in the biggest exporter of the grain.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra opened army camps to help house some of the 2.4 million people displaced by the floods, and asked authorities to accelerate efforts to protect the capital. The finance ministry yesterday cut its forecast for economic growth to 3.7 percent from 4 percent and said the disaster may cause 120 billion baht ($3.9 billion) of damage.
“It’s difficult to estimate the water volume, but if we can protect the flood barriers in three key points in the next one to two days, Bangkok should be saved,” Yingluck said yesterday at Bangkok’s former international airport, which has been turned into the country’s main flood-management center.
The situation is “quite worrisome,” Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said, adding that agricultural industry losses may total as much as 20 billion baht.
In Bangkok, officials are rushing to build three additional flood barriers and plan to dig five more canals over the next seven days to drain water from the capital, Yingluck said.
Evacuation Plans
Oct. 16 through Oct. 18 is the highest risk period for Bangkok, with low-lying areas near Suvarnabhumi airport and communities next to the river and canals the most vulnerable, the city’s Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said yesterday by phone. Officials are shoring up flood walls, preparing evacuation plans and readying medical supplies, he said.
Bangkok’s flood-defense efforts are focused on the Chao Phraya river, whose banks are lined with luxury hotels including the Peninsula, the Shangri-La and the Oriental, as well as the Bank of Thailand.
“We have increased the number of sandbags put in place to prevent water infiltration,” said Rashana Pimolsindh, a spokeswoman for Shangri-La Hotel Pcl. “There are several water pumps on standby at various points in the hotel.” Shangri-La hasn’t experienced any flood-related cancellations, Rashana said.
Some supermarkets in the capital reported shortages yesterday because of delivery disruptions and panic buying, said Saofang Ekaluckrujee, senior corporate affairs manager at Ek- Chai Distribution System Co., which operates Tesco Lotus hypermarkets in Thailand.
‘Panic Buying’
“There was panic buying of dry groceries such as instant noodles and rice at most of our stores in Bangkok,” Saofang said by phone. “In some stores, there were shortages of dry food because the flooding has affected logistics. We are trying everything to secure supplies to meet demand.”
Thailand’s government will provide as much as 200,000 metric tons of rice from its stockpiles and asked local producers of instant noodles, canned food and water to increase production to prevent shortages, Permanent Secretary for Commerce Yanyong Phuangrach told reporters at the weekend.
“The situation is nowhere near crisis proportion just yet where food and water are concerned,” said Sukhumbhand, the Bangkok governor. “Major arteries to transport all these things to Bangkok are still open, so I hope it’s just temporary.”
Evacuations
North of Bangkok, authorities evacuated residents in the central province of Nakhon Sawan after a flood barrier was breached on the Chao Phraya river, said Wim Rungwattanajinda, a spokesman for the national flood center. As many as 650 patients are being evacuated from the province’s main hospital, Health Minister Wittaya Buranasiri told reporters yesterday.
In Ayutthaya, 67 kilometers (42 miles) north of Bangkok, rising floodwaters broke through defenses around the Rojana Industrial Park, which is mostly a base for companies making automotive and electronics parts. The 198 plants have a combined investment value of 56 billion baht, and a total workforce of 90,000, said Suparp Kleekhajai, the vice industry minister.
Hundreds of Honda cars were damaged when dikes failed at the Rojana park, where the company produces as many 240,000 vehicles a year, said Pitak Pruittisarikorn, executive vice president of Honda’s Thai unit.
“We will try to resume production at the plant as soon as we can, but we have to wait until the water situation is under control,” Pitak told reporters. “The water level hasn’t peaked yet. It’s still rising.” Pitak said the company is insured against flood damage.
Hana Micro
Flood barriers are still protecting the Hi-Tech and Bang Pa-In industrial estates in Ayutthaya, Suparp said.
Hana Microelectronics Pcl, Thailand’s biggest semiconductor packager, said it may take 20 days to reinstall equipment even if the Hi-Tech facility escapes the flood.
Seasonal storms have affected more than 6 million people in Southeast Asia and claimed a further 224 lives in Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines, the United Nations said last week. Monsoons across Asia last month generated about $7 billion of losses, including $1.1 billion in Thailand, Aon Benfield, a reinsurer, said in a report on Oct. 5.
The deluge has affected 8.2 million people in Thailand since July 25, data from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation show.
“There is no need to declare Bangkok a disaster zone yet because we can still control the situation,” Yingluck said. “But we may need to assess the situation again when the new storm arrives.”
--With assistance from Daniel Ten Kate, Yumi Teso and Anuchit Nguyen in Bangkok. Editors: Tony Jordan, Sunil Jagtiani
All eyes on the mighty Chao Phraya
Thais fear coming high tide will compound deluge from heavy rain
Nirmal Ghosh Straits Times 11 Oct 11;
BANGKOK: From his small restaurant by the swollen Chao Phraya river at Tha Prachan pier in the northern part of Bangkok, with the water heaving just an arm's length away, Mr Boonma Phongparinya has been watching the level rise every day.
He fully expects the water to damage the wooden flooring of the restaurant which he has been running for more than 30 years, says the 54-year-old.
Sandbags have been laid for people to walk on, and around him, workers and neighbouring shop owners hammer and saw non-stop as they fix wooden planks to raise the walkways on the vulnerable waterfront.
It is a common sight along the river that snakes through Bangkok, as the Thai authorities continue scrambling to cope with the floods that have inundated almost entire provinces just north of the capital.
'Every government has always struggled to deal with the annual floods because root causes were never addressed,' said Mr Boonma. 'It's deforestation in the north and all over the country.'
Deforestation in the north may have caused faster rainwater run-off, filling reservoirs more rapidly to the point where water had to be released in a hurry following unusually heavy monsoon rain.
Added Mr Boonma: 'If you want to solve the problem, you have to start at the source.'
The rising waters are expected to pose a serious threat to Bangkok later this week: Flooding is expected to get worse as water released from reservoirs in the north continues to pour southwards, down rivers and canals to the sea.
Concerns now centre on evacuating affected communities in the north - and in the capital itself if necessary - and scores of evacuation centres, many in schools and army barracks, have been opened and stocked with supplies.
The meteorological office predicted a let-up in rain over the next three days, following almost a whole day of rain in Bangkok yesterday.
But a coming high tide, forecast between Oct 15 and 19, remains a worry, as it will slow down the flow of water in the Chao Phraya and even cause it to back up. Many parts of the city are barely above sea level, and rely on flood walls to protect them from any overflow in the river and major canals.
The authorities' response to the floods, meanwhile, has drawn a mix of reactions. An Assumption University poll of 1,012 community leaders and local officials in flood-affected provinces, showed that 79 per cent thought the government's support was insufficient and not efficiently distributed.
The famously outspoken Mr Smith Thammasaroj, a former national disaster chief, was critical of the water management authorities for failing to predict sustained heavy rain, and not releasing water accumulated in reservoirs earlier.
'Water management should be in the context of advance forecasts of rain and storms,' he said.
But another poll by Rangsit University found that 62 per cent of Thais were confident the government could handle the crisis.
The Bangkok-based spokesman for the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Ms Kirsten Mildren, described the Thai government's response as impressive.
While there was concern over potential outbreaks of dengue fever and typhoid in areas where floodwaters have been standing for days - and could remain until next month - there have been no unusual health problems reported so far, she noted.
'It's mainly a logistics challenge, but the Thai government seems to have the capacity to deal with it,' she said.
Thailand's worst floods in over 50 years have already killed almost 270 people, displaced well over a million and swamped parts of two industrial estates.
They are also likely to cost the economy tens of billions of baht.
Yesterday, Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala estimated the floods could cost 60 billion baht (S$2.5 billion), while an official at the National Economic and Social Development Board predicted 90 billion baht.
Losses in the agricultural sector alone could reach 40 billion baht, said Mr Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, the board's secretary-general. He also warned that the auto and electronics industries - key drivers of Thailand's exports - could be disrupted until next month.
The two months of prolonged flooding have also ravaged other parts of the region. In Cambodia, more than 200 people were killed when the Mekong River burst its banks, while Vietnam reported a total of 24 flood deaths as of yesterday.
