What are the consequences to changing systems?

By Aayush

Why did Thailand flood in 2011?

Man Made reasons
One man made reason is that people have deforested the trees which can soak in the water. Trees also prevent erosion of soil and hold the ground , so the river banks wont wash away easily. Trees also help through transpiration. Also people have built roads on the ground so now there is less water that will go into the ground. So the precipitation is higher than the infiltration which is causing more surface run off into the villages and cities as it flows downstream. Also the government has made dams which regulate the flow of water. Also the government kept the dams 90 % full so that they could use the water in drier climates. Though the rains came with heavy precipitation and made the dams close to full. Most people Believe that the government let 30% of there water go from each dam to prevent breakage. Next the water went into the Ping, Nan, Yom rivers which are the tributaries of the Chao Phraya river. All these rivers overflowed and caused massive flooding.

Natural Reasons

The climate change has resulted in a lot of rain. The next slide shows how the rain this year has been higher than the 30 year average.

People think they can control water but they cant. They should let nature be and if they did I think the flood would not happen.

Comparison of 30 year average and 2011 rainfall

How the flood is affecting me?

I have noticed that the water has risen a little bit in the klong. I never really saw the floods and did not notice any big changes in the nature around me. My moms job is in a school and since the school closed I think she got less salary. My dad helps people buy and sell houses and since some people aren't in a mood of buying it is a negative. However some people have to buy a new house because their old house got destroyed by the floods it is a positive. The flood has definitely affected my education since the school closed for 10 days and we have had to do online learning. Online learning is hard because you sometimes dont understand the work. I think my family are trying to help the effected ones by donating a lot. I think the community feels sad as a whole because they feel sad for other people.

At first I thought the flood was not coming so I was fine but everyone spread rumors. The government never really knew if the flood was going to reach Bangkok which caused a lot of confusion and uncertainty. I think it is very unfair to the people being flooded outside of Bangkok because the government flooded their homes and workplaces instead of letting the water flow away into Bangkok.

How the flood affected someone like Tha kay?

This all happened because of the flood!!!! Also there were snakes/crocodiles in the flood waters which put Tha Kay at risk. She lost her job and took a big loan which she cannot pay back because she is not employed. She was deported so she had to take a loan to get back in Thailand. Her house would have broken and she probably lost most of her belongings. Migrant workers probably think that the government has not helped them so it is unfair.

She would feel very scared and unsafe coming back into Thailand. Many diseases spread during floods because things are not clean so Tha Kay all have a high chance of getting sick. Also the food supplies were effected giving Tha Kay a limited choice of food.

Bibliography.

Works Cited Barton, Cat. "Thai Floods Hit Migrant Workers Hard." AFP. 24 Nov. 2011. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i86ZOa8gvBUoB6u6rYCfM4DgjxT w?docId=CNG.2d2d1a538fa4fdec530ea4bcd47d82d7.321>. Ferquest, Jon. "Floods: Damage to Farms & Crops." Bangkok Post. Hitachi, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-fromnews/266566/floods-damage-to-farms-crops>. Roeland, Philip. Bangkok Floods 2011 - Pinklao Bridge Area - 30 October 2011 (12). 2011. Photograph. Flickr. Yahoo, 30 Oct. 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/27389313@N05/6297133423/>.