In the past weeks, the flooding in Bangkok has been very severe. Now, everything has almost returned to its normal state. There is still some flooding in the border areas of Bangkok, but more than 90% of Bangkok is now “dry.” ABAC, a leading international university in Thailand, has conducted a research to see how people feel about the many organizations that offered help and gave aid to the victims.
The ABAC poll entitled their research, “The Voice of Flood Victims: A Case Study in Bangkok and the Perimeter Area.” This study focuses on 1,478 subjects in Bangkok and its perimeter area and their appreciation of the various organizations and individuals who offered aid during the flooding disaster. The results show that the Thai Royal Army ranked first, with a score of 9.56; volunteers ranked second, with a score of 9.10; the press ranked third, with a score of 9.08; police ranked fourth, with a score of 9.05; and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ranked fifth, with a score of 8.34. As the scores indicate, the victims and Bangkok citizens understand the great efforts made by the Thai Royal Army to help during the disaster.
The flooding disaster in Thailand, and especially in Bangkok, this year is the most severe flooding disaster in the past 50 years. It has caused enormous damages in Thailand. The value of the damages is more than 200 billion baht (more than 6.6 billion USD), and more than 300 people have been killed. These damages have made this year’s flooding the most severe natural disaster since the tsunami in 2004.
The flooding in Bangkok caused enormous damages, which created a disastrous scene in the Bangkok area-one that most people have only seen in the movies. Bangkok is the water route from the north to the open sea. Therefore, the problems created by the flooding have put tremendous pressure on management teams to cope with the flooding without avoiding the responsibilities of this water route.
We can see that the depth of the water in many rivers and canals in Bangkok has become much deeper and that the level of the water has risen. The inhabitants of Bangkok can only wait to see if their houses will be next to be in the water. Some inhabitants feel a lot of stress because of this; some already have their houses in the floodwaters. Most Thai inhabitants were very fearful to see the flooding reach the heart of the city, which is the main vein of its economy. Bangkok, as the capital city, should have more proper ways to cope with this disaster. Political differences have been set aside in Thailand for the sake of helping with the problems that are affecting so many of its citizens; all are very open to see the problem solved.
During the flooding disaster, the Royal Thai Army (RTA) had an important role in giving aid to flood victims. As we have seen in the media (e. g., television, newspaper, radio, etc.), the image of the RTA as it emerged to help the public has been one of sacrifice. They have dedicated themselves to help people. They worked very hard without thinking about themselves to save people in the flooding areas. The RTA has sent out more than 40,000 soldiers as well as trucks, boats, and other resources into the flooded areas.
Not only have they brought in food and other resources to help the victims, they have also helped to evacuate people from the more seriously areas to the safe zones. As we can see on the news, in some areas, the flooding was so severe that the depth of the water reached the first floor of the houses and buildings; people had to move up to the second floor. In many instances, the victims caused more problems because they did not want to evacuate. Many victims were worried about their belongings in their homes; they thought that they could still live in their homes even though the electricity was out and the water was completely covering their first floor. This caused difficulty for the soldiers who were trying to help because they had to distribute the resources to them instead of being able to put everything in one safety zone.
RTA set up many evacuation centers for the victims to received food and shelter, but because many victims didn’t want to leave their houses until the last minute, the problems were made more difficult. There are some people who died from electric shock when they tried to reach the first floor where the water was. In addition, the water from the flooding is toxic and full of bacteria.
Another problem that RTA and other organizations have to face is a political one. Many people believe this situation is becoming a political stage on which all political parties want to garner more popularity for their next votes. They blame the problems of addressing the flooding on other political parties. This has caused a non-harmonious workflow in getting help to the victims. The burden is falling on the victims because they have to wait for a solution as the politicians fight among themselves.
Normally, the RTA tries not to get involved in any political arguments, but during a time of disaster, it has been hard to avoid being a part of the arguments; the RTA has a duty to protect and serve the people, no matter which political side they take. No matter which party ends up with the authority as the present or future government, they cannot take away the heart of the RTA to protect and serve people.