After nearly a month of confusion, Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today issued a warning that the entire city of Bangkok must be prepared for flooding; should three major floodwalls stay intact, officials may be able to limit the spread of floodwaters to certain areas of the city, but the chance of the floodwalls remaining firm is only “50/50”.
Central Bangkok residents must finally face facts and brace themselves for heavy flooding, and all that a rumored month-long inundation will entail. Sandbags are only a start. People need to start collecting dry food and water now, if they haven’t already; sufficient stores of purified water are extremely important, but it’s also important to collect stores of regular tap water for bathing and toilet flushing (should electricity be cut) while tap water is still relatively clean. The picture shown, containing a tap water sample from a flooded home in Dong Muang district, shows what happens to tap water that has been contaminated. Would you want to bathe with that?
Contaminated water supplies bring us to our second point: hygiene. We’ve posted before on the public health hazards of Bangkok’s flooding, but it’s important to point out that certain precautions and preparations can drastically reduce the risks of many water-borne ailments. Bangkokresidents should immediately purchase supplies of thigh-height protective gumboots, to protect themselves from contact with contaminated water in flooded areas. Supplies of rubbing alcohol and medical gauze should be stocked up, to clean the cuts and scrapes that have come in contact with dirty water. Supplies of broad-spectrum antibiotics (such as Ciprofloxian) and broad-spectrum anthelmintics (intestinal parasite medicines) should be purchased from pharmacies in preparation for possible gastrointestinal ailments that might be picked up from floodwater.
Bangkokians are in for a long November, as the flooding is expected to take roughly a month to drain from the city. Let’s take the time to prepare now, and prepare well, for what could be a very difficult few weeks.
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