Music, or anything else

The flooding has started, so slowly it was hardly noticed at first. The canal (khlong) didn’t overflow; the water started coming from underground.

BKK flood 10-31

The water flow though Khlong Phrakhanong is determined largely by ocean tides. During a high tide, water backs up and the level rises, usually to a slightly more than a meter below the top of the wall, or almost at ground level. During low tide, it drops more than a meter. A nearby government sluice gate opens and closes at times I haven’t been able to predict, to regulate the flow somewhat

Tide table for Bangkok Harbor

The khlong walls are concrete, about 20 centimeters thick and extending above ground level about a meter. On October 30, the high level was about 10 centimeters higher than usual. The surrounding ground is completely saturated, so when the weight of all that extra water pushed against the walls and canal bed, water essentially flowed up, and out. There’s a private service driveway along the canal, and it has a long crack. Yesterday, water began bubbling out at high tide, partially flooding the garage entrance (now blocked by a 2 meter flood wall).

There’s another leak somewhere near the bridge on the far bank, creating a small pond. And several nearby sois (small streets) are also flooding. The water comes at high tide, and mostly recedes at low tide. 

What happens next is anyone’s guess. The above chart shows the high tides getting smaller as the Sun moves out of syzygy, the alignment of Sun, Moon and Earth in a line. That’s good news, but most of the flood water is still upcountry. So far, the Government has kept Bangkok relatively dry by flooding everyone to the east and west. Angry residents are tearing down flood walls, and there hasn’t been much action to stop them.

I’m still waiting. I’ve stored 30 liters of drinking water, so I should be fine, no matter what happens.

I also have emergency power, thanks to my music studio. I’ve long had problems with the power here: blackouts, brownouts, frequency and voltage fluctuations, harmonics and transient spikes, etc.  So I invested in a Liebert Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). It provides enough emergency power to run my entire studio (including powered speakers) for 30-45 minutes, or the Internet router and laptop for several days.  Thus I should be able to stay online even when the building’s power is cut.

Events have taken a more serious turn in the last couple of weeks. As water continues to creep downstream, with serious flooding expected to coincide with this weekend’s high tides, it’s become apparent to many Bangkokians that the Thai Government did not expect and was not at all prepared for an emergency of this magnitude. Many in fact hold them largely responsible for making the problem much worse by releasing water from reservoirs at the wrong time,  and even now has no idea what to do.

A couple of days ago Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, younger sister of former PM and convicted felon Thaksin Shinawatra, finally admitted that the entire city is likely to be inundated for two to four weeks, with water levels up to two meters in places. She has repeatedly advised residents to “seek higher ground” (a difficult task on a flood plain where the nearest hill is 150 km away), and they responded by parking their cars on city tollways, now reduced to one open lane each way.

And then, two days ago, she announced on television that everyone in Bangkok was in danger and should leave immediately, triggering a panic exodus that has swamped all transportation services. The only way out of town now is by private car or van, and prices are climbing daily. To some extent this is because petrol prices have risen as supplies run short. Hotels in nearby towns like Pattaya and Hua Hin are fully-booked. In a wonderful display of Thai compassion, most hotels have not raised their prices, but are offering deep discounts to displaced residents.

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Meanwhile, I’ve decided to stay put in my apartment, overlooking Khlong (Canal) Phra Khanong, and see what happens. If (when) it overflows  the extra remaining meter of retaining wall, water will flow down driveways to the basement, where two-meter steel-reinforced concrete walls have been erected. But if water rises a bit more, it will flow down stairways and flood the basement, threatening the main power transformer. It’s protected by a basic sandbag wall, but it’s not heavy enough to hold the pressure of that much water, and it’s not wrapped in plastic so it will eventually leak.

In other words, I expect the electricity to go out soon after the flooding begins here, and to be remain off for at least two weeks. By then, most of the rest of the city will already be flooded, so there won’t be any place to go anyway. So I’m taking advantage of this rare opportunity for “urban camping,” and to document what happens.

My location is perfect for this: a top floor apartment that includes a private roof area with running water.  Tubs have been filled for bathing Thai-style, once the main water pump stops working. The barbecue, a CharGriller Professional (made in China, shipped to WalMart in Indiana, and then shipped to Thailand) is fueled and ready, with a two-week supply of hardwood charcoal at hand. The kitchen is stocked with rice, instant noodles, eggs, meat, cat food, etc. I’ve collected 15 liters of drinking water and another 5 liters of beer and soda. Bottled water is impossible to find now, but I have a good water filter (Osim), and I’ve been filling all the water bottles I can get. At the last minute (will I know?), I’ll fill the bathtub for water to flush the toilet. Yes, I have several boxes of candles, thanks for asking.

When the power goes, obviously I won’t have Internet service, so whatever happens to me will have to be reported here later. But I have three guitars, books to read and two crazy cats to play with

I think I can hold out for two weeks without power, before water runs out. If we’re still flooded by then, I’ll have to escape.  And that will be the most dangerous time.

The Bangkok plain is almost level, so the Chao Phraya is a very slow-moving river. The water level is rising very slowly, and it will recede very slowly, too.  if one is to believe Government statistics – the amount of water moving into Bangkok, the river’s drainage capacity and Bangkok’s total pumping capacity – it will take at least two weeks to drain it all, and four weeks is starting to look likely.

The danger is that by the time I am ready to be evacuated, there might not be anyone around. I bought some knee-high galoshes yesterday, so if the water isn’t too bad, I can wade out to Sukhumvit Road with a suitcase and a cat cage. Hopefully the SkyTrain will still be running, and I can get to the airport or train station.

If the water gets much higher than that, I’m stuck, and my camping trip will become a survival exercise. Boil any remaining water with the last of the charcoal, eat cold rice and wait.

Hello friends old and new, and welcome to my blog!

From the time in high school when I first became seriously engrossed in writing music, and for nearly 30 years after, all my daily activities seemed divided in two categories: those relevant to the music I wrote, and everything else. That often meant short-changing parts of my personal life whenever I was deep in a new composition. I finally learned to balance things better after moving to Thailand.

So this blog will certain include many random thoughts about music in general and my projects in particular. But I have a notorious talent for getting off-topic, so anything is possible. I’ll probably talk a lot about the curious life here in Bangkok, so different from, and yet in some ways reminiscent of my childhood in Indiana.

A word of caution: I consider myself pretty open-minded about most things, and I believe in freedom of speech. If my words offend you,  feel free to start your own blog and not read mine.

And please feel free to visit my web site, devoted mainly to my musical activities:  www.JohnMelcher.net.