On November 5th, Bangkok authorities confirmed that construction on the six kilometer-long “Big Bag” floodwall, formed from 6,000 sandbags, was complete. The wall, which stretches across several districts of northern Bangkok, including Rangsit, is part of a bid to keep prevent from reaching the heart of the city while officials pump water out from the flooded side of the wall. However, authorities have conceded that the wall may ultimately fail in keeping water out of central Bangkok.
With such questionable odds of avoiding floodwaters, Bangkok residents who can afford to are leaving the capital in favor of (hopefully) dryer locations, such as Hua Hin, Pattaya, and even Chiang Mai. While those with money and options are fleeing for safety, it seems that they are leaving behind a shell of a city, filled largely with those who are too underprivileged to afford an escape route – not unlike the New Orleans city residents who were left to bear the brunt of Hurricane Katrina because they lacked the private transportation to leave the city before the storm hit.
( supply bags for 800 baht each, after recipients of the bags (largely containing food) claimed the bags are worth much less. While transportation costs may account for part of the inflated figures, it remains to be seen how the Thai authorities will deal with potential financial mismanagement during this chaotic time.
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Thanky Thanky for all this good information!