Bangkok Is Not Out of Danger.

Flood water is being diverted to eastern Bangkok in order to save the inner city.

Bangkok, Thailand. October 20, 2011. This past Sunday, the government proclaimed that flood waters are receding and that Bangkok was out of danger. In other words, the worst was over. You could feel a collective sigh of relief that no new areas would be affected and that efforts could focus on helping the many, many Thais and businesses that were suffering. Anyway, that was the publicity. I fell for it.

The reality is different. Three days later, as we see pictures of new areas being inundated around the capital, and read reports that flood waters are being released into north and eastern areas of the city in order to spare the densely populated city center, which is also Thailand’s economic hub, we know that the government is not to be trusted to give accurate information, a conclusion shared by the overwhelming number of people voting no confidence in a recent poll. Pretty Prime Minister Yingluck, the sister of fugitive PM Thaksin, gives daily feel-good photo ops and encouraging messages of hope, while her government is in disarray around her. Yesterday, she asked the people to extend sympathy, yes “sympathy,” to her government.

I live in inner Bangkok and there is no expectation that my immediate area will flood. I haven’t yet tried to buy drinking water, but from reports of friends, I expect that the store shelves are empty, but never mind, my neighbor has hoarded an extraordinarily large amount of drinking water, which he will make available to me. As for food, I’m not expecting to starve. Unfortunately, many, many Thais are suffering and my sympathy goes out to these good people. I’m in daily contact with two families, one in Pathum Thani and the other in Min Buri, both areas of heavy flooding, who will stay with me if they need to. I’m more than happy to have them.