thailand's worst floods in over half a century have been going on for months now, and it's completely frustrating that government and media outlets have been broadcasting inconsistent news from the very start. even though i live in the central part of bangkok, it still feels quite challenging to gather credible facts about what exactly is going on.
everything here still feels unstable. water and basic necessities are STILL IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND at shops, and walking into some convenience stores and supermarkets with shelves that have been apocalyptically empty for weeks has become the norm. the good news is that if you go to a restaurant or other establishments, they will most likely have bottled water to sell. however if you want some to drink at home, you're pretty much fucked. i myself have still been rationing the water i've had at my house for the past week or so, and am hoping it will last me until the stores are selling it again.
just when i thought the number wouldn't increase, as of now, over 500 people have died from this natural disaster. trying to comprehend the considerable amount of lives lost is really saddening, and i can't believe that the death toll is continuing to rise.
every time it's reported that the floodwaters might reach the inner parts of bangkok, the government and media always reassure residents not to worry. then there's always these pinnacle points when the news will say that the worst the city should embrace for will be on X day, and then after X day passes by without anything happening, one just assumes everything is going to be fine. then the media will again start reporting that actually the worst is yet to come on X day, and then that day too will pass without anything happening. everything has just turned into this cycle of panic and reassurance, and then more panic and reassurance.
the latest i've heard was from students i sometimes tutor. i know how kids just sometimes love to make everything so melodramatic, so it's difficult to tell when i should or shouldn't believe them. however, after hearing all this news from the students first, i began to hear about it from other adults as well. the latest i've been hearing is that all the flooding that's happened up until now was only THE FIRST WAVE that came from the northern regions of thailand. the looming and unavoidable SECOND WAVE is supposedly all the flooded water that's been building up in the flooded suburbs and areas outlying bangkok, and this blackened and stagnant water has become filthy, and is teeming with human waste and diseases. this dirty water is supposedly continuing to rise in the flooded regions, and it's inevitable that all the strongholds will give way, allowing the water to make its way to the central parts of the capital city. i've been told this second wave is going to be way worse than the first because of all the possible health effects, and it's supposedly guaranteed to affect almost all of bangkok.
some media outlets are also reporting that the flooding should last for weeks more. i've been trying to keep up with all the reported news stories and it seems that certain areas are still continuing to be declared to dangerous to inhabit and residents have been ordered to evacuate. i'm happy to report though that right now, the central and inner part of the city are still completely dry, and that's where i live.
without the government and media outlets providing factual news, i don't know what to think or believe at this point. i just hope thailand is able to recover as fast as possible from all this devastation.
Hang in there!
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