Panic Mode

It's dry in central Bangkok. For distant districts surrounding the city, it's another story. Bang Bua Thong, Lak Si, Sai Mai and Thonburi, as well as areas along the Chao Phraya River, have been inundated with floodwater making its way south to the Gulf of Thailand. It's not necessarily as the Western media would have you think.

Yes, an airport is closed. Don Muang, which was serving as an evacuation center is almost totally flooded, but it is only the domestic airport. Suvarnabhumi is operating as usual.

The government, led by a green prime minister, has been a hot mess of mixed messages and political infighting. It almost seems as though they want Bangkok residents to expect the worst, and then later they can slap each other on the back and congratulate themselves on how they averted true disaster.

This is the email I got from my landlord a few days ago.

Just a little hysterical, no?

She's not the only one, and no one has any idea what's going to happen. People have been preparing for the end of the world. Grocery store shelves have been cleared of bottled water and instant noodles for weeks. Some 7-11s have closed simply because they can't restock.

With high tides last weekend, the river should crest and the water should start to recede--but who knows how long that will take. Donate to the Thai Red Cross.