Thailand Floods



Thailand Floods

Introduction

The floods in Thailand in 2011 were extremely severe caused by long lasting monsoon in the early July. The floods mostly affected the area along the river Chao Phraya. However, by the end of October when the tide reached its peak, more complications were added to the situation than before. Flooding in Thailand, in 2011, was a natural disaster (a series of floods), which was the strongest in 50 years. There were seasonal monsoon rains in July till September 2011 in the northern, northeastern and central provinces of Thailand, where the water through the lowlands of central Thailand came to Bangkok. Total 65 out of 76 provinces of Thailand were affected and more along with more than 13 million people. The rains were caused by tropical storm "Nock-ten" that struck Thailand on July 5, 2011.

Discussion

Ecological Impact

The floods in Thailand caused severe effects on the ecological system of the country. There is a record of ecological consequences such as acidification of soil. As a result, Thailand suffered a significant agricultural loss as crops and pastures that were sensitive to acid got destroyed. In addition, the post conditions of the flooding in Thailand were extremely severe for the majority of the plants, which died and had acidified scalds up to the surface of the soil. Furthermore, in most of the regions of Thailand that were less affected, the productivity of the plants was significantly reduced. On the other hand, as a result of the flooding, the acidic waters had a severe impact on the marine life as it caused unusual fish deaths. Moreover, the acid water caused fish diseases and significant variations in the marine communities. Rivers were left sterile for a prolonged period. However, the long-term effects on biodiversity are yet to be determined (Govorushko, 2011).

The ecological consequences of the floods in Thailand alarmed the local authorities and the international communities. Furthermore, there has been a significant impact on aquaculture. There have been significant losses in the production of oysters reaching nearly $13 million. On the other hand, the corrosion of steel and concrete infrastructure also caused the country more than $5 million. However, it is challenging to calculate the economic loss of marine life due to their movement from one place to another and unrelated elements such as bycatch, extensive fishing and destruction of the habitat.

Over the past 100 years, severe flooding has caused irreparable damage to the agriculture of Thailand. Thailand is one of the largest sugar producers in the world. The flood in the country was inundated 2 to 3% of the total area of ??agricultural land for cultivation of sugar cane. The estimated loss in sugar production is up 300 thousand tons, which is not the absolute loss. Thailand planned to increase sugar production this year to 700 thousand tons to 10.8 million tones more, the plans of the country were to increase exports by 300 thousand tons, up to 7 million tons. However, the recent floods in the country brought calamity that ...