The Pros Outweigh The Cons

Wow, two postings in one day!

Nichada's management just posted this notice (in bold below) and it looks, to me, that we have reason to be optimistic about Nichada not flooding. As I said earlier, Nichada's management has been fantastic about reporting the current conditions and providing us with accurate and pertinent information. I am beginning to feel a little more relaxed about leaving tomorrow morning.

"As the second wave of floodwaters continue to flow down from the North over the next week, we still consider Nichada at risk so we continue to strengthen our defenses against the potential floodwaters. We urge our residents to also remain alert to the sometimes-fast paced changes to the local flood situation via the local media.

Some information we consider to be “cons” to our situation:

1. The sea tides are going to run high from today through the weekend.

2. The Chao Praya River water level reached 2.4 meters above sea level yesterday against the height of the embankment, which is 2.5 meters above sea level. The government is predicting that the level of the river could reach 2.6 meters, which is 10 centimeters higher than the embankment. Edited to add: After the events of the last two weeks, I am not sure how much credibility I give the government's prediction. This "con" might really end up being a "pro". 

Some information we consider to be “pros” to our situation:

1. We consider the threat from the Chao Praya river to be less than from Khlong Prapa as we are closer to the Khlong than to the river.

2. The government currently has Khlong Prapa under control and since this Khlong provides tap water to much of Bangkok, will continue to work hard to keep the flood waters from polluting the Khlong.

3. If water seeps from Khlong Prapa, the majority of the water should run east towards the city, as it will be seeking lower ground. As Nichada is located to the west and sits on higher ground, we anticipate receiving much less water than the east side unless something unforeseen happens to the Khlong embankment.

We would like to thank those of our residents who have shown their appreciation for the hard work of the Nichada staff in their efforts to protect our community and for also showing concern for their welfare during this trying time. We are also are proud of our staff and concerned for their welfare and for this reason they have been offered housing within Nichada for both they and their families as well as three meals per day. About 80% of our staff has taken advantage of this offer. Those that do not want to leave their homes or who cannot commute to work due to the flood have been allowed to take holiday. As most of our staff’s efforts this week will be focused on flood preparation, please understand that other projects such as minor repair work will be put off until the risk of flood has decreased significantly."

Edited to add my personal comment: In their articles and statements, the media and the government use metric system measurements to report the flood water levels, i.e., 10 centimeters, 50 centimeters, 1 metre, etc. It was a bit unnerving at first to hear flood water levels near us reported to be at 80 centimeters. Eighty is just such a large number! However, in trying to figure out how high the flood waters would need to be to enter our home, I converted the 80 centimeters to the American system and it was only 31 inches. That is still a lot of water but it was easier on my ears and wouldn't even reach the front door of our home!