“Water, water everywhere” or, “Floods are no fun”

You may have heard already about the flooding going on in Thailand. I haven’t blogged about it yet for a few reasons: 1) I have been busy with other things, and 2) it’s hard to get straight information until it’s all over (and it’s not all over yet)…

Chiang Mai experienced flooding the last days of September and the first days of October.  The affected areas were by the river and the lower areas surrounding the river banks.  Water did extend for several kilometers to the east of the river, and a little less than that to the west.  Here are some photos posted online by Chiang Mai Mail, a local weekly English-language publication.  You can find CMM on Facebook here.

The municipality of Chiang Mai delivers help to flood victims.

Above is a picture of the river in front of the US Consulate.  The water in the picture on the right is still very high compared to normal.

And an intersection near my favorite Mexican restaurant:

You can also watch a video here.  I didn’t take it.

Ayutthaya, a city in central Thailand near Bangkok has been flooded for several weeks, and many provinces in central Thailand have had flooding for two months or more.  Now, the waters are threatening Bangkok, and have already entered parts of the city.  The government is making huge efforts to save the city.

And that’s where the clear information ends.  We do know that hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost, over 300 people have died, and acres upon acres and acres of rice crop has been destroyed.  We don’t know what will happen if/when Bangkok floods.  Journalists have tended to sensationalize the news (surprise) and the government has tended to respond with positive statements like, “We will not allow the flood to enter Bangkok” (surprise).  Political groups and everyone else has joined in the blame game to point fingers at others and away from themselves.  Some blame the water management people for keeping too much water in the dams for too long, and then having to let out so much water to let the rivers flood all at once.  (My guess is that the same people would blame the water management people if there had been drought and there wasn’t enough water in the dams.)  Some blame the weather department for using old and faulty prediction systems and for failing to predict how much rain we would have this year.  (See the next paragraph – we had a lot of rain.)  Some blame the current government for not working on flood prevention (they’ve been in power since August… but were in power in 2005 when the last huge floods went through Chiang Mai and other parts of Thailand).  Some blame the previous government for not working on flood prevention.

Chiang Mai Mail reported on the rainfall for this year:  September is usually the wettest month of the year in Chiang Mai, when about 11.5 inches of rain falls over 18 days.  This year, the total rain in September was 320mm, 28% more than an average year.  Until the end of August, Chiang Mai had 1,372.5mm of rain, making the total 1,692mm from January to September.  The average yearly rainfall is 1,185mm.

So, we’ve had a lot of rain this year….  And the above-average rainfall has been nationwide, not just in Chiang Mai.

Meanwhile, Bangkok prepares for the worst and authorities are in disagreement about what will happen and how bad the damage will be.  You could look for more information on Bangkokpost.com or try searching CNN or BBC.

Please pray for the Thai church to rise up and help flood victims, and have a great opportunity to share the good news and hope we have in Jesus.  Pray also for the thousands and thousands of people who have lost loved ones, jobs, homes, crops, businesses, and possessions.  May God use this tragedy to bring many people to know Him!