As you probably already know, Thailand recently experienced severe and devastating floods throughout the northern and central regions of the country. I’ll blame my absence in the blogosphere on this fact, though it may be lacking a bit in validity. The truth is that the Thai Floods of 2011 left majority of the teachers in Thailand with an extra month and a half off from work, for which we are making up for heavily since the semester started up again on December 6th. With no Christmas break and 6-day teaching weeks, finding time to blog proves difficult – but, as my father continues to remind me, not impossible.
I’ll spare you a long, drawn out reproduction of how the floods began and the series of events that, inevitably, led to 500+ deaths in a three-month period of time, one of the worst floods in Thai history. If you haven’t followed it on the news, or are simply unaware of such facts, here are a couple links to follow that give the gritty details.
Wikipedia's Timeline of Events
Food update: Oct. 20, 2011
Suffice to say, myself and those who live immediately around me are blessed to not have had to endure what other parts of the country have during these floods. It's been declared the world's fourth-costliest disaster as of 2011, only surpassed by the tsunami in Japan this year.
Nathan and I first heard of the chaos when we found out that our plans to visit Chiang Mai during the October holiday (“semester one break” for my students) were to be cancelled – Chiang Mai, at least for a brief time, was completely under water. We set our holiday sights further south and ended up in Phuket, but not before taking a day trip to Ayutthaya. It was here that we caught the ancient ruins just before the rivers rose and spilled onto the land, leaving statues of Buddha to peek over waist-high water.
At this time we still couldn’t have grasped the magnitude of the floods as they made their way further South. The river was swollen, and the houses surrounding all mildly flooded. It appeared destructive, and yes, a bit ominous. But if someone had told me that the next two months would feel like the coming of the Apocalypse I might’ve sneered.
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| Ayutthaya, early September |
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| Ayutthaya, early September |
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| Ayutthaya, early September |
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| Ayutthaya, early September |
To me, the rainy season in Bangkok was as brutal as it was enchanting. Never before have I lived somewhere where it can rain like clockwork (clouds more black than grey, so thick that 4pm looks like 7) each and every day, sometimes for hours at a time. Yes, the Pacific Northwest is rainy. But it’s rainy in that puny, “spittle” kind of way. A light misting that never really goes away, but was hardly ever there in the first place. But here? Oh man, it RAINS. Torrential downpour is really the only way to put it. When those clouds open up, every street will temporarily flood, and there is not the slightest chance of making it anywhere quick enough that you don't get wet. Most Thai people just stop what they’re doing and stand under awnings during these monsoon rains, bowing out of their responsibilities for the moment and giving Mother Nature her time in the spotlight.
But the country seemed ill prepared for the destruction that came with this year’s rainy season, and as the flood waters made their way South – through Bangkok – to the sea, spending at least a few weeks wading through water seemed inevitable.
The Chao Praya flooded in many areas, overflowing nearby klongs and destroying the homes of those in the more rural north and northeast districts of the city. Crocodile farms by the river issued “warrants” for escaped crocs, inspiring groups of Thais to go hunting for crocs who took the opportunity to roam cage-free. The schools shut down, and the government evacuated most residences surrounding the river. In fact the government issued a weeklong “holiday,” urging everyone (All 10 million or so) to evacuate to nearby provinces. Overpasses became parking lots for those hoping to save their cars from wreckage. And those who hunkered down began to, well… panic, essentially. Grocery stores and 7-11s across the city were stripped of all noodles, canned goods, water, and anything else worth having around during the End of The World.
People everywhere began to build barricades along their homes, businesses, and company buildings. Most used sandbags, but some were even careful enough to use poured cement, most walls built to be as high as 3 feet. Even those living in the districts out of the “affected” zones (such as my own) prepared heavily. Blow-up rafts and big rubber boots started selling like wild on every street corner.
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| Our condo, barricaded up. |
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| Despite the preparation for the worst, businesses rarely shut down |
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| Awaiting the "inevitable" |
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| The nearest pier on Chao Praya river, overflowing. No boats running in late October. |
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| Sandbags used at display shelves during Loy Krathong |
Meanwhile, the majority of Bangkok remained surprisingly, blissfully, confusingly, bone dry. Each day Nathan and I would wake up and check around the outside of our condo (which had its own massive flood barricade around the perimeter.) to see if the “flood” had arrived… some twisted version of waiting for Santa. But strategically placed dams did their job, and central/southern Bangkok was spared from water damage.
As exciting as it would have been to trudge through river/sewage water for a while, crocodile hunting for fun and getting good use out of a pair of rubber boots, we were –of course—fortunate to be safe from harm during this time. The same can definitely not be said for all in Bangkok. However, with true Thai mai pen rye (“no worries”) spirits, those affected have mainly remained steadfast, cooperative, and united through the disaster.
In the month or so since Bangkok has been declared “flood-free,” the city has almost entirely returned to normal. Almost all of the sandbags have been picked up and taken away, barricades have been broken down, and –hopefully—each crocodile is accounted for. It was certainly a celebration when water bottles returned to grocery stores.
Now the schools are back in action and making up for lost time. Thankfully only two of my student’s homes and families were directly affected by the flooding, but my heart truly goes out to those still suffering. The Floods of 2011 were definitely not an experience I ever could have predicted going through upon moving here, but such is this crazy ride called life. I’m just trying to take each twist and turn in stride, and always maintain a chai yen yen.
