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Discussion 1 : 11/10/2012 at 07:54 AM

schuimpje #20 - I share my comment on your statement "But then our dear PTP starts to grab headlines with all types of backstabbing which clearly is only for political gains." I don't know why BP not posted it. PTP is asking for accountability and it is not just the opposition parties' job. Where is the backstabbing. It is your problem for others to gain political advantage.

Discussion 2 : 10/10/2012 at 05:35 PM

#26, so you explain that it can be an electoral argument. Anyway, a canal have systems to regulate and evacuate the water. The roads have the drains, if you put sandbags to block this drains, the roads are flooded when have heavy rain. You can already watch the videos on Youtube (last year) for the roads (flooded) with blocked drains...

Discussion 3 : 10/10/2012 at 03:38 PM

If I was the BMA I would let the government remove all the sandbags from the drains while filming the whole thing. Then I would wait till the next time the water level in the canals is above street level, and film water pouring out of the exact same drains onto the street. Next I would clip the 2 videos together, end the video with the written order from the PTP science minister to remove the sandbags, and use it as my main campaign video for the governor election!

Discussion 4 : 10/10/2012 at 02:59 PM

schuimpje #20 - what you are explaining for BMA has nothing to do with the specific order that the WFMC gave. Check with the relevant authority, don't just depend on news reports or social media speculation. An order is an order. BMA has to comply first.

Discussion 5 : 10/10/2012 at 02:52 PM

Headline should read PT makes a mountain out of a mole hill hoping to get some votes for the governor election next month .Its pretty common sense why the bags were there .No one is making any secret about it except PT who is trying to spin it .People in Bangkok arent as gullible as your voter base PT .Please try again .

Discussion 6 : 10/10/2012 at 02:49 PM

Bangkok is very flat and in certain places water can in actual fact come out of drains and flood streets, we saw it last year. But the solution to the problem is not to block drains with sandbags. There are various low tech solutions to the problem, but you need to install such devices before the time and not wait untill the raining season. When you use sandbags you run the risk of bags blocking the sewerage system like in the Min Buri case.

Discussion 7 : 10/10/2012 at 02:34 PM

If they fail to comply to remove the sandbags, they will send their own men to remove them. Where is the incentive in the BMA to do anything? When the BMA operates as a dicatorial state within the Nation, strong measures need to be forced by the government to ensure compliance. With all the police and army under the national government you would think they would have the necessary tools to force compliance? However this is another example of how people only care for themselves, take care of themselves and at the expense of everyone else in the world.

Discussion 8 : 10/10/2012 at 12:53 PM

The sandbags were employed as a technique to prevent water from Hua Mark canal from flowing into the sewers, which could flood Srinakarin Road. The sandbags stuffed in the drains on Srinakarin Road did not affect the drainage capacity in that area, BMA spokesman Wasan Meewong

Discussion 9 : 10/10/2012 at 12:38 PM

Bula I disagree. The BMA has to follow general guidelines which are very vague at the moment as stated in the article. I can imagine they would read something like: "keep Bangkok dry"...that's all. So BMA is doing just that, following the guidelines and doing that with the knowledge they have of their City's systems. I'd rather have them disobey and keep my house dry...easy to say its wrong if your house is not in such area. But then our dear PTP starts to grab headlines with all types of backstabbing which clearly is only for political gains. I am sure that in about 3 weeks time, you will hear nothing about this story anymore and PTP will move to the next opportunity for that.

Discussion 10 : 10/10/2012 at 12:05 PM

To put it mildly, blocking drains as a flood management technique is counter-intuitive, so the onus clearly is on the BMA to explain and justify its use of this technique, something it has so far failed to do. Not long ago a Democrat spokesman accused the goverment of covertly blocking the drains with sandbags and other materials as a ploy to cause flooding and undermine the Democrat controlled BMA's credibilty in discharging its flood mangagement function. Now it has emerged that the BMA is in fact itself putting sandbags in the city's drains as part of its flood management strategy. Well, how about that!

Discussion 11 : 10/10/2012 at 11:58 AM

D11: Yes, sometimes in Thailand things are different than in other places. While even in Thailand water usually goes down the drain (eventually together with a considerable amount of garbage), it also often happens, that water is actually coming out of the drain flooding streets that would actually have been dry or at least not flooded.

Discussion 12 : 10/10/2012 at 11:19 AM

Ian, D12, I recall that in the first mention of this issue, the BMA clearly stated that it blocked the drains to prevent water backflowing from the canal while having pumps in place to drain excess water. To me, this is all about PTP running amok on BMA for elections and publicity.

Discussion 13 : 10/10/2012 at 10:41 AM

Flood waters can come OUT of drains also. Last year I read on the blog posts of several housing estates that, though they had built levees around the estate, the estates flooded from the drains. It is in PT party's interest that you don't get the facts or get them clearly. There is a governors' election coming up. Why should Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit and his deputy Jirayu Huangsap be involved in inspecting BMA flood management anyway?

Discussion 14 : 10/10/2012 at 10:22 AM

The issue is - BMA disobeyed the order of a national agency such as WFMC. When you disobeyed an order, it also encouraged other to disobey the order of BMA. The other important issue is that currently BMA is running like a separate country with its own rules and laws. The interior ministry must address this issue.

Discussion 15 : 10/10/2012 at 10:00 AM

The PTP just wants Bangkok to flood to divert attention to their poor management elsewhere and poor money management with the flood money.

Discussion 16 : 10/10/2012 at 09:48 AM

If the reason for the sandbags is as you say schumpje why didn't the authorities put a non return gate on the outlet into the canal.Or is that too easy.

Discussion 17 : 10/10/2012 at 09:24 AM

#6 is a valid explanation of the principle, what seems strange to me is that the BMA have not come up with this explanation but simply bluster and threaten. Nothing is ever as it seems in Thailand one always have to seek for the hidden motives. Thai politics is like an iceberg, only the tip shows, meanwhile the ship of Thailand steams blindly along.

Discussion 18 : 10/10/2012 at 09:18 AM

To complete #4. Question: if you block the drain, why do you need a drain? In substance, the BMA explains that if it blocks the drains, the water comes back to the sea.I thought that everybody knew that the first reason of a flooded road was a clogged drain. Maybe it's different in Thailand.

Discussion 19 : 10/10/2012 at 08:55 AM

The PTP would not mind a little flooding in Bangkok if it would help them in the next election against the incumbent BMA Democrats.

Discussion 20 : 10/10/2012 at 08:19 AM

First of all I would like to read some technical information from some experts why they want sand bags or no sandbags at certain points. Without that information it is impossible to judge who is wrong and who is right. I guess there must be a good reason why the BMA wants to put sandbags in the drains. Even the BMA knows that the first reaction from everyone would be: why do you block the drains? So if they spent time, energy and money to do it anyhow there is probably a good reason for that. The project does not sound like one of the corrupt schemes where millions or billions are spent, it’s just about sandbags. Sure, it could be that the Bangkok governor wants to deliberately flood a part of Bangkok, but why would he do that with the Bangkok elections not far away?

Discussion 21 : 10/10/2012 at 07:31 AM

musashi D2: first you blame the BKK governor for having done what ever he could to keep BKK dry and therefore let surroundings to flood, in the next sentence you blame him for wanting BKK to be flooded so he can ask for more cash to build giant tunnels that lead to nowehere (actually, they lead to the sea). I think you should chose either one of the options and stick to it. Obviously, the sandbad dispute has become a sandbox game for the polito-kids. It should not be very diffucult to objectively analyse the intent, purpose and result and then make a decision whether it was the right thing to do or not - but that's not part of the political sand-blame-game.

Discussion 22 : 10/10/2012 at 06:31 AM

Every single housing estate around BKK blocked the drains with last years flooding to prevent water flowing in. With the sandbag dikes keeping the roads dry and pumps inside the village taking out drain water and keeping the drains dry. That is precisely what BKK is doing.

Discussion 23 : 10/10/2012 at 06:27 AM

D1,2,3,4: You clearly don't understand or have seen the situation there. The rainwater drains in that area run straight into the Canal next to the road. If the water in the canal is too high, then it would actually flow back into the drains again. So with heavy rain, the area would get flooded because it has nowhere to go. By blocking the drains that flow into the canal, you stop water from the canal and you can use pumps to remove rain water from the drains. The same is done in many areas, for example Rangsit, near future Park and Rangsit canal. This is called water management, using pumps when water level is too high in the surrounding area and natural flow when the water level is lower. Why not a watergate? Cheaper solution, just an hour of work and 20 sandbags...

Discussion 24 : 10/10/2012 at 05:56 AM

I said it before and a I say it again; from my point of view (which is the view of somebody who lives in a very low area) the BMA has done a fine job draining the extreme amount of rainwater this year. The whole watermanagement has steadily improved over the last two decades and if it takes sandbags to get results, it is good for me. Maybe the should go on and install watergates at these certain spots but I guess sandbags are just the cheaper solution. I am not a fan of our govenor but that is not enough reason to say that he is wrong when he is actually right.

Discussion 25 : 10/10/2012 at 05:12 AM

It's obvious that blocking drains with sand-bags aids flood-prevention. It is so obvious in fact that no-one has ever felt the need to prove it or explain it. Google "blocking drains with sandbags as an aid to flood prevention" and see if you can find any scientific documents. I bet you don't. Why not? No need - everyone knows it already. Even the BMA.

Discussion 26 : 10/10/2012 at 05:08 AM

At the same time Mug-ngai people pour the garbage in to the drain that should have given the same result..blocking the water flow in to metropolis. It was the big mistake for not including Netherland to the list of water management study tour last month. They would have observed that Netherland doesn't stuff the overgrown unsaleable flowers bulbs in to its city drains as part of water management. Common sense, The sand bags should be used before the water gets in. after the flood the bags will prevent water to drain out, build the fence after you lost the cattles is a lot too late.

Discussion 27 : 10/10/2012 at 04:06 AM

Last year, the governor ran BKK like a fiefdom and played a political game with the lives of Thais as chips. Whilst he enjoyed his moments of power by hampering the flow of water to the sea, numerous people suffered in the surrounding provinces. Just a few months ago, he was caught with his hands in the BTS “cookie jar”. He then claimed that the government tried to take the cookies from him because they are delicious (Green Line makes a lot of money). The issue is not about the cookies, but about why his hands are in the cookie jar. Now he is trying to block the water-flow with sandbags so that BKK can be flooded again, and the BMA can request for and receive billions more to build gigantic tunnels that lead to nowhere. He is claiming that the sandbags help to drain the flood water. His hands are clearly in this cookie jar as well. Let’s see if my fellow Bangkokians are silly enough to vote him as the next governor. I hope not, sincerely.

Discussion 28 : 10/10/2012 at 02:38 AM

"Mr Pramote, who discussed flood prevention with City Hall officials yesterday, said the WFMC did not understand the BMA's technique of using sandbags to block the drains". I doubt it is only thing WFMC do not understand.