Human and Environmental Impact on Thailand Flood (2011)

In Thailand, flood is the number-one natural disaster in terms of the number of lives lost and property damage. 2011 Thailand Flood  is the result of a multitude of naturally occurring and human-induced factors, but it can be defined as the accumulation of too much water in too little time in a specific area. It can occur at any time of the year, in any part of the country, and at any time of the day or night. Most lives are lost when people are swept away by flood currents, whereas most property damage results from sediment in the water. Flood currents also possess tremendous destructive power that can demolish buildings and erosion can wreck bridge foundations and footings leading to the collapse of structures. Seven major industrial estates have been inundated by as much as 3 meters for at least a month now. Although several factories having been building up to 6 meter blockage, the stronger currents are always interfering the reconstruction resulted the entire area to be non-operational. Not only the moving water that causes huge damage, but also the resting water that produce toxic gases and create hindrance to the transporting people. Human impact is one of the influences the lead to flood. Long time ago when the lands were mostly agricultural field, the naturally occurred waterways were a balance of nature (transferring water in and out). Since the development of city, those rice fields were adjusted to fit the modern lifestyle; in turn, that change led to the disappearances of many native waterways. After native waterways were gone, excessive water can no more sluice naturally (e.g. wharf creates bottleneck in river path). The current tap water comes from drawn underground water which alternately leads to the unbalanced pressure of sand, clay, and stone above the water source. After the ground is subsided, the whole area will change into basin inducing the body of water around it to gather and, then, confined until it is drained away. One notable error in communications between Thai medias and foreign companies was the lack of information in English (there is but it is not very accurate). It is important for the government to provide accurate information and execute long-term prevention standard. However, many international internet sites has provided free access to near-real-time flood information. There is still a lack in receiving enough and accurate information and some community cannot  emigrate and move critical equipment in time. I hope that the flood situation in Thailand will be relieved soon, thanks to the spirits of every Thai citizen. (Y)







http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Thailand_floods
http://hilight.kapook.com/view/52961
http://ks.water.usgs.gov/pubs/fact-sheets/fs.024-00.html