Updated: A flood roundup

With flooding gradually seeping through parts of Bangkok and an unusual 5-day holiday proclaimed to allow some to flee the rising waters, a reader sent PPT a link to a set of photos readers might find of interest. They are from more than a week ago, but very vivid. One is reproduced below:

Thai soldiers stand on a pile of sandbags in a flooded road outside Rojana Industrial Park, near Ayutthaya, Thailand, on Tuesday, October 11 (Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/Bloomberg)

Readers might also find this take on the flooding, “high risk” mitigation strategies and political conflict of some interest (thanks to the reader who sent the link). The “high risk” is seen in the closure of Don Muang airport.

Some recent news:

• Thailand : Floodwaters Threaten to Overwhelm City’s Defenses as Levee Work Slows

eTaiwan News: Thailand’s government said water levels rose further on Bangkok’s outskirts and may overwhelm defenses, raising concern that the nation’s worst floods in more than 50 years may spread to new areas of the capital. “Water will enter Bangkok from Rangsit, …

• Honda Malaysia halts output, hit by Thai floods

CanadianBusiness.com: By AP | October 25, 2011 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Japanese carmaker Honda has temporarily ceased production at its Malaysian factory due to parts shortages caused by catastrophic floods in Thailand. The floods, which have killed 366 people over …

• Thai flood forces cancelations at Bangkok airport; holidays declared

CNN: Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) — Residents of Thailand’s Munag Ake village are being urged to evacuate the area early Tuesday morning, according to Thailand’s Flood Relief Operations Center. The center’s director said parts of a dike at Tambon Lak Hok, …

• Bangkok’s second airport shuts as floods advance

AFP: BANGKOK — Bangkok’s second airport shut down Tuesday as floodwaters advanced into the Thai capital, forcing authorities in “crisis mode” to declare a five-day public holiday in preparation for the deluge. The cabinet ordered an October 27-31 holiday …

• Surprise Holiday in Thailand, but No Celebration

Wall Street Journal: Many Bangkok residents are about to get a holiday – but the not the kind they would have wanted. As floodwaters spread into more parts of the Thai capital – including most recently into Bangkok’s second …

Update: The Irrawaddy has a useful account of the stoicism of flood victims (another Irrawaddy story of political interest here). In amongst other things it states:

There have been efforts by certain sections of the Bangkok elite to score cheap political points by blaming the government for failing to stop the flooding, but the way flood victims have reacted to the whole situation merits praise and nothing else.

And the article notes that: “Various websites and media outlets have also added to the confusion in their attempts to help.” PPT has to agree. Some of the media reporting has been less than polished and deeply yellow. The yellow-shirted attempts to make political gain from the floods by their own deluge of blatantly false and alarmist emails (PPT receives plenty of them) and use of social media is (at best) opportunistic.

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