The Floods of 2011

[Big Boy]

Thanks BG It makes sense now.

I've just told Mrs BB that it means why, and she said, "Oh, it's Tamai then."

[PeteC]

[pharvey]

Bit late in the day to be finding this, but for those of you with Android Smartphones this App is available free of charge: -

''Thailand Flood Maps 2011''

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[Nereus]

One affect of the floods not yet reported in the local press: (mods pls move if better in Digital Forum)
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What you can do about soaring hard-drive prices

Floods in Thailand — and an ensuing worldwide purchasing panic — have pushed the price of hard drives to nosebleed heights and left us all with fewer choices.

Here’s what you need to know about the crisis, the fallout, and what you can do about it.

Have you tried to buy a hard drive in the past couple of weeks? I don’t know how things are in your neck of the woods, but out here the drive shortage is so bad you can’t find any internal drives on the store shelves. My friendly local computer shoppe won’t sell me an internal drive unless I buy a whole PC.

Moreover, the cost of hard drives is spiking, as if you were investing in the gold market. For example, 1TB drives are up to three times more expensive than they were just a month ago. Take a look at Figure 1, which tracks the price of a plain-vanilla 1TB Seagate Barracuda drive at Newegg over the past three months.

Just one month ago, that Seagate drive sold for U.S. $54.99. As of Nov. 10, it had jumped to $149.99. To add insult to injury, Newegg limits purchases to one of these drives (purchase page). Don’t believe it? Try updating your shopping cart with a quantity of two or more.

Although price spikes are not unusual when demand exceeds supply, this case is particularly remarkable. To understand why, let me explain what did — and didn't — happen in Thailand last month.

Full article here:

http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/wha ... ve-prices/

[PeteC]

[PeteC]

Anyone have friends or family in, driven through or near, or talked to anyone in the know about the situation in Rangsit? I'm hoping to hear water is going down? Thanks. Pete

[Nereus]

Anyone have friends or family in, driven through or near, or talked to anyone in the know about the situation in Rangsit? I'm hoping to hear water is going down? Thanks. Pete

I have a friend in Klong 4. Just got off the phone from him. The lower floor of his house is still flooded and it`s about half a metre deep on the road outside his house. Cannot get a car in or out, his wife has just returned from shopping via a boat. Not good all around him.
The water has dropped a little bit, but is basically stagnant.

[PeteC]

Thanks Nereus, at least the report is more positive than negative. Pete

[PeteC]

Go to the Bangkok Post letter section for the 18th. You'll see one there from a foreigner whose visa is expiring and his house is under water and he can't get the documents needed for whatever kind of renewal/extension he is eligible for. The immigration grunt laughed at him and told him best if he leaves the country.

Of course it's a rant from an angry man, but I have no reason to doubt that we as well as Burmese and Cambodian migrant workers are being treated basically in the same manner. Such is life here. Pete

[PeteC]

.......The water has dropped a little bit, but is basically stagnant.

[/quote]

That I think is a bigger problem than they are letting on. Areas are so blocked to prevent flooding elsewhere, drainage blocked by existing structures as well, combined with low ground....many places are never going to drain naturally, those areas will need pumping.

Then the game will begin in earnest. Who is willing to pay the most to be pumped first? A lot of seedy bastards are going to make a fortune before all this is over. Pete

[PeteC]

[PeteC]

Flood stories are beginning to wane. Most are now about areas cleaning up and drying out. There is still plenty of 1 meter deep water in areas north and west of Bangkok, and the government has agreed to open sluice gates wider and dismantle some sand bag dikes. They have promised that Don Muang area will be dry this week. It appears that the beginning of the end is finally here. Pete

[usual suspect]

Maybe a little 'off-topic' but in today's BKK Post the Thai hotelliers have just announced they are to increase room-rates by 20% by next year..Has the TAT seen/endorsed this move yet? Are we seeing the usual Thai way of economics..business is down 20% so lets put price up to make all OK again..?? T.I.T. eh?
(The Hotel-commission did say in the report that Thailand still offered the best value for tourists of all S.E.Asia)..WHAT??

[charlesh]

20 % - yeah. They offer water views! Typical Thai way of doing biz. Just like Oz where as an inducement to use public transport they put the prices up!

[richard]

Off topic slightly but the uturns on Petcha that were blocked during the last few weeks seem to be reopening

Ambulances that are heading south for the BK hospital now can uturn after Condo Chain instead of going all the way up to the bypass