Thursday, November 10, 2011

FLOODING NOT ENDING ANYTIME SOON….


Helping prepare food for the volunteers

The second last weekend in October the area where my church is [Muang Ake] flooded. Weeks before this, the community of Muang Ake had been working around the clock building a 4km long sandbag wall, taller than me and 4-5 sandbags thick, in order to keep their community dry as well as to keep the flood waters from entering Bangkok [the canal in Muang Ake flows into Bangkok]. Samantha and I spent some time helping our church & friends with the sand bags as well as making food for the volunteers making sand bags.


Making sandbags all day...
Sadly, the sandbag wall gave way [some say people   
deliberately broke part of it] and Muang Ake is under 2-ish meters of dirty flood water, which has made its way down from the north of Thailand. All our friends and CCC staff who live in that area have either gone back to their hometowns or are living in the TCCC guesthouse in Horkankar [the area where Samantha & I live].    



....And all night
It’s been two weeks since then and the water continues to sit in Muang Ake and work its way south through Bangkok towards the Gulf of Thailand. The flood waters are 4km away from where we live [Horkankar]; they come a little bit closer each day. There is hope that Horkankar won’t flood because this area is higher than surrounding areas, but no one knows for sure. We’re just waiting and taking it one day at a time and watching the news intently.



Helping make sandbags
TCCC staff continue to reach out and serve those in need, even though they are also the ones in need. Many staff have up to 2m of water sitting in their homes, their cars, etc.; if it’s not their own home that is affected, it is a family members or friends home. They are putting others needs before their own and are spending their time cooking and bringing meals, clean water, medicine, clothes etc. [via boat] to people who are living on the second floor of their homes in the Muang Ake community [they had to stay in their homes because they had nowhere else to go]. 

Please keep praying for us because if Horkankar stays dry then we can continue to be a flood relief center for the Muang Ake community and surrounding areas. 


Sandbag wall in Muang Ake
A video you must see. This is my church, my community, my friends:

http://help.ministrynetconference.com/


Video: Images from the flood: [most current stats]

http://vimeo.com/31831137



The front of my church before....
....and now after all the flood waters came













THE LATEST FACTS & FIGURES:

  • 2.8 million people have been affected by the floods
  • Over 500 people have been killed from the floods
  • 64 out of 77 provinces have experienced flooding in the last 4 months. 
    • 24 provinces are still flooded, while the other 40 provinces have begun the process of cleaning & rebuilding
  • Over 500 000 people have been forced to leave their homes because of the floods
    • Some people have chosen to live on the main roads in their community so they can be near their homes [people are very reluctant to leave, despite the danger]  
    • Other people have left their homes to live in overcrowded evacuation centers in universities, stadiums & schools
  • 2.8 million homes damaged by the flood
  • The current estimated damage from all the flooding is at 6.5 billion USD
  • The floods started in July in the north of Thailand and will be around for at least another month as the water works its way through Bangkok to the ocean                                                                             
    Two TCCC staff houses, flooded
  • Some areas in the north have begun the cleaning and rebuilding process as the water levels have gone down [Take a look at this map to see the affected areas and where the flood waters currently are doing the most damage - http://www.thaiflood.com/en/]
FLOOD EFFECTS:
  • People’s homes & possession have been destroyed        
  • Drinking water & clean water for washing is getting scarce because the ground water has been contaminated with flood water  
    Welcome to my church!
  • Store shelves all over the country are emptying because there is no way to get more supplies
  • There are limits on how much food and drink items you can buy at one time; so people don’t hoard food and water.
  • Countless amounts of people are out of                          work as industrial plants, shops, malls, etc have flooded
    •  930 factories in 28 provinces have been affected 
      My church, filled with 2m
      of brown, stagnant water.
       by the floods. Not all factories are expected to reopen after flood cleanup, resulting in permanent job loss.  
  • Farmers in central Thailand have lost their rice crop [which means their income] for this year
    • “Of the major hit rice growing areas, Thailand – the world’s largest rice exporter – has lost 1.6 million hectares, or 12.5 percent of its crop. Exports could fall by a third in 2012, from 10 million tons this year.” [for more see, http://the-diplomat.com/asean-beat/2011/11/02/asia-counts-flood-costs/]  
      iServe team busy at work in the church
  • With so many houses sitting empty of residents  [for weeks on end] people are worried others will steal their belongings         
  • Many roads, both rural and main are inaccessible – making it a challenge to bring relief to people
  • Bridges and overpasses are lined with parked cars as people prepare for the flood waters to reach their homes

I hope you feel more informed about what we are expeiriencing here in Thailand. Please keep praying for this nation - pray for the people in need, for those helping people in need, and pray that many will come to know Jesus Christ through this time.


People leaving their homes in northern Bangkok because the flood waters have come.


TCCC iServe Team ready to help!


The boats TCCC uses for helping people




People stayed in their homes because they had nowhere to go...now they are living on a makeshift platform at the top of the second story of their home. Underneath them and all around is 2m of dirty water.









This is one of the main roads in Bangkok - usually flooded with cars, not water. I used to travel it a few times a week to get to my church.












FOR MORE INFO:
SOME LINKS TO CHECK OUT

*NASA satellite images of the flooded areas in Thailand [2011] & what the area looked like in 2008:



*A satellite image of flood water movement from Oct.3-Nov.2 2011  


*Many great pictures and comments from the floods in Bangkok. It gives you a better idea of what’s going on right here in my city:

*A great article on the larger flooding situation in Southeast Asia – A MUST READ!

*The economic & industrial effects, [specifically focusing on computers] this flood will have on Thailand and the world:
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