Going on vacation to Thailand, our compatriots imagine the bright sun, warm sea, forgetting that in these parts autumn, winter is the monsoon rainy season. With heavy rainfall, floods in Thailand are commonplace. Thais themselves take this calmly, unless, of course, not counting cases where prolonged rains lead to severe flooding. Then the water is around - at sea and on land.
Annual floods
Those who are coming here for the first time need to find out how to avoid undesirable consequences and not spoil the vacation for themselves and their loved ones. Experienced tourists are well aware that floods in Thailand happen every year, and local residents regard this as inevitable.
I would like to immediately note that the main resorts of Thailand, such as Pattaya and Hua Hin, are located in those places where there are no such excesses. You can relax without thinking about natural disasters. True, visiting some attractions will have to be postponed.
What is the reason for the annual flood in Thailand? First of all, with a flat location with the lowlands of the central part of the country and, of course, monsoons, which fall mainly in autumn and winter. So, the flood of 2015 was in early January. In most cases, the water level does not increase much, which leads to slight flooding of the vast territory.
Floods occur in the second half of the rainy season, when the water content in the soil exceeds a critical point, and prolonged rainfall leads to flooding of the territory. The water brought by the rains does not last long, and the territory quickly takes its usual form. As a rule, after the end of the monsoon rains, the water quickly leaves, leaving behind it traces of destruction, and often the bodies of the victims.
2011 Great Flood
But there are special cases that lead to real revelry of the elements. So, for example, in 2011, the flood in Thailand took on the character of a natural disaster, which caused significant damage to industrial production, agriculture and, worst of all, suffered great loss of life. That year, 616 people died.
About 5 million people living in 20 provinces, as well as in the north and east of Bangkok, the capital of the country, were affected by the flood. A state of emergency was declared in the country when the power of the country's prime minister becomes unlimited. On November 23, 2011, Bangkok was declared a natural disaster area.
Flood in 2017
In mid-January 2017, hundreds of tourists fell into a trap while relaxing on Koh Samui in Thailand. A flood that paralyzed a number of provinces in the country made it impossible to fly planes that were delayed at the airport. Houses were flooded, roads were washed. In addition to Samui, the flood caused significant damage to a number of provinces. There are victims, the death toll was 11 people. Flooding in Phuket in Thailand has also caused significant damage.
Large losses were suffered by electronics and engineering enterprises. These are mainly factories of the world's largest companies, which produce components for computers, telephones, and cars. Rice crops and other crops were destroyed. The only unaffected resort in Thailand is Pattaya. Floods rarely affect him.
Effects
But the worst thing is not the damage caused by Western Digital, Toyota, Ford and other well-known companies that a month later restored the production of hard drives or accessories for cars. Terrible death of people. When planning to go to Thailand, first of all, you do not need to trust those travel companies that say that the flood is a trifle, something like canals in Venice.
Flooding is an uncontrollable element, except for destruction, it brings mudslides and landslides, which are even more dangerous than water. But the worst thing is infections. These include skin diseases, in particular fungal. In 2011, more than a million people became ill with ringworm after the flood. Viral infections, Dengue fever, eye diseases, dysentery and much more - these are all consequences of the flood.
Water carries sewage, the bodies of animals and people, chemicals from enterprises. All this decomposes very quickly at a temperature of 28 degrees. During the worst floods of 2011, about 10 million people were affected, 150 thousand were left homeless, and about 700 thousand were left without work.