Expat Survival Series: How To Prepare For An Urban Flood

First of all, if you have no idea what I am talking about, then let me catch you up to speed.  In short, Thailand is under siege from a massive collection of rain water, and the word on the street is that it’s going to flood in Bangkok.  Here’s a great cartoon video which explains what this is all about – gets to it by 0:50 – subtitles in English (or just pass on the video and read the rest of my blog post below it if you are not that interested in the specific situation).

We were pretty much doomed.  Then we weren’t.  The city would be saved at all costs.  Well, apparently those costs have been exhausted, because from all accounts we’re going down, to some degree.  I am very blessed (and try to keep this in the front of my mind every day as I am bombarded with heart-breaking images of people in flood waters up to their neck or higher) to be residing in the most central area of Bangkok, which reportedly will be the last to flood, and dwelling on the 20th floor of a high-rise apartment building.  Although, if the electric goes out, I will be stuck up here due to my extreme inability to tolerate raising my heartbeat above a resting state level (which means that going down and then back up 20 flights of stairs is quite a laughable concept), I will remain dry, as will my possessions, so this is a heavy advantage over most people in Thailand who are facing the flood water.  However, there is a real threat that we could lose city utility services, and if the shops around are flooded out, we might not have anywhere to get basic necessities such as food, potable water, and medications.

So, what is my plan, you may ask?  Without panic, but with sound judgement, here is what I have done or am in the process of doing today:

In the case that we loose water & electricity:

• As there is no more bottled water at the shops in my area, I am filling up anything and everything with filtered tap water for our drinking water and for brushing our teeth, food prep, etc.
• Cleaning and filling up the bath tub.  This water can be used for flushing the toilets, cleaning the apartment, washing our face and taking a sponge bath of sorts, etc.
• Stocked up on produce, washed it, sterilized it, and prepped it – cut into pieces, peeled it, etc. It’s now ready to grab-and-go.
• Stocked up on a reasonable amount of food, without being greedy – there are millions of other Bangkokians who will need food as well.
• Ice packs put in the freezer. These will help things in the freezer or the fridge stay cool for longer if we do in fact lose power.
• Baking a bunch of muffins, cookies, etc., bagging them up, and putting them in the freezer.  They can be shifted to the fridge of the power goes out, which will help keep things colder in there, and as they thaw out we can eat them for breakfast or a snack, as they do not require heating or cooking at that point.
• Filling up a bucket with water to keep on the balcony to water the plants.  I’m not going to lose my two cute little organic purple bell peppers currently growing away!
• Washing the sheets and all dirty laundry, deep cleaning the apartment. It might as well at least start off looking good, because no water will mean it is going to go downhill fast!
• Double check that we have enough disposable plates, napkins and cutlery.  Normally I don’t like to use this kind of thing, but if we are unable to wash dishes, they will come in handy to keep things clean around here.
• Stock up on toilet paper.  Unfortunately, I did not do this quickly enough as we were in Hong Kong on vacation when the brunt of the madness materialized, but at least we do have those darn ‘arsehole sprayers’ if we run out of paper!
• Double check that the flashlight/torch is working, that we have extra batteries, candles, lighter fluid and a working can opener.
• Double check that we have a supply of essential medications for a few weeks (Kevin’s inhalers), plus medication for vomiting and diarrhea – flood water mixed with sewage water is gonna equal sick people around here.  On that note, a bottle of rubbing alcohol to sterilize anything that has been in the flood water would be a good idea as well.
• Run any last errands I need to do – pick up the dry cleaning, go to the bank to get emergency cash, etc., as I might not be able to do any of this for a while if we are hit with rising water.
• Take out the trash (and might as well clean the refrigerator and dump anything gross).  When/if trash collection stops, I don’t want to get caught with a bunch of stinking rubbish in the apartment!
• Send some messages to your close friends around town to let them know we are staying put, and that we are available for help should a problem arise in their area.  Getting our guest room ready in case someone needs to take us up on this!
• Calling our families in our home countries and letting them know that right now we are o.k., that we are taking the necessary precautions to remain o.k., and that if the situation in our area changes for the worse, that we will contact them immediately provided we are able to.  Otherwise, they are to try not to worry!
• After this is all completed, I will go back to my normal routine as best as possible, and work away until or unless I am not able to for some reason.  I’m keeping one eye on the Thai news, but not to a point where I am overly-obsessed or becoming panicked.  If all else fails and the water does come into my area, I plan on spending my time holed up in our apartment, tackling a mound of 15 books that I have brought back from the US and are calling out to me to be read this very moment!

See my other posts in the Expat Survival Series: What to Bring, House Hunting, How to Fly With a Baby, and Maintaining Your Wardrobe in the Tropics.

*Photo by Robson Hatsukami Morgan on Unsplash