Floods: Samut Sakhon factories next?
Home to Thailand's seafood industry with 5,000 factories & 500,000 workers, floods expected this week for one month.
Home to Thailand's seafood industry with 5,000 factories & 500,000 workers, floods expected this week for one month.
Photo above of a screen shot from a computer simulation of how floods might move through Bangkok and Samut Sakhon by Thai mathematician-computer scientist Somporn Chuai-aree (Meng) (Watch video of simulation at Youtube). Samut Sakhon is the small blue area on the lower left side next to the ocean. Below is a map showing location of Samut Sakhon.
Click button to listen to Flooding Samut Sakhon to download
FLOODING: Samut Sakhon factories still unprepared - FTI, Province could lose up to B150bn by Areerat Wiriyapong & Phusadee Arunmas
About 35 kilometres southwest of Bangkok, Samut Sakhon is home to nearly 5,000 factories with a total industrial workforce of 500,000, the majority of which are employed in the seafood sector, including SET-listed Thai Union Frozen Products Plc (TUF), one of Thailand's leading manufacturers and exporters of canned and frozen seafood products.
"We expect the entire province will be hit by floods some time this week and the water level might be higher than two metres in some areas," said Apichit Prasoprat, head of FTI's Samut Sakhon province and secretary of the central-region chapter.
More importantly, about half of the factories have yet to exercise flood-prevention measures, probably because they don't think the floods will affect their factories, he noted.
Several factories are located below the road level, putting them at risk.
"In a worst case, we project the floods will last about one month. We need a number of water pumps to drain the water out as fast as we can to minimise damages," said Mr Apichit.
A floodway is being prepared for one side of Rama II Road heading south. Mr Apichit has asked his colleagues at FTI offices in other provinces to help supply hundreds of water pumps.
TUF president Thiraphong Chansiri said the flood has not yet affected the company's operations but it is monitoring the situation very closely.
TUF's plant is located in the Muang district of Samut Sakhon, which lies in the projected path of the water flow from flooded areas to the Tha Chin River. The company erected a sandbag barrier around the factory's premises and has several water pumps on standby. Large machinery and equipment are protected.
Besides preparations to safeguard physical assets, TUF has also implemented flood-relief measures to help affected employees. The company set up an evacuation shelter at the plant, and a team of TUF volunteers are prepared to assist employees evacuating their homes. Employees who cannot travel to the plant can work from home.
Samut Sakhon province, in red, is directly in the flood path.
Prantalay Marketing Co in Samut Sakhon has prepared a depot and cold storage in Ma Klong in neighbouring Samut Songkhram province
"We've sped up operations to meet year-end orders and so far supplies of shrimp, mainly from the southern and the eastern regions, have not been disrupted," said Anurat Khokasai, the company's marketing and chief operating officer.
But we are now concerned that increasing rainfall in the south will affect supply, as normally happens late this month
Prantalay is confident its exports will top its original forecast of 8.4 billion baht, possibly reaching 8.5 billion this year. Domestic sales are projected at 1.2 billion baht. Next year, it anticipates sales growth of 10%, he added.
Inundated industrial estates in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani are prepared to pump out floodwater, but the water has receded slower than the Irrigation Department forecast, they noted.
At Hi-Tech Industrial Park in Ayutthaya, floodwater is still as high as 1.98 metres, higher than the estate's flood wall.
"We need to wait for it to recede to probably 1.80 metres," said Hi-Tech managing director Thavich Taychanavakul. "Earlier, we estimated the floodwater would stablilise early this month so we could start pumping the water out by this Thursday."
It will take about 14 days to drain 10 million cubic metres from the estate. Hi-Tech expects to complete the task by Nov 25, he added.
(Source: Bangkok Post, FLOODING, Samut Sakhon factories still unprepared - FTI, Province could lose up to B150bn, 8/11/2011, Areerat Wiriyapong & Phusadee Arunmas, link)
Flood Economics Vocabulary
computer simulation - a computer program using math and physics used to show how a series of events could happen and unfold, given certain assumptions built into the model (See Wikipedia)
Samut Sakhon - a province south of Bangkok on the coast with many factories, the home to Thailand's seafood industry (See Wikipedia)
severe - very serious and worrying ที่รุนแรง ที่น่าเป็นห่วง
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
severe floods are expected to hit the province later this week and last about a month
workforce - a large group of workers, all the workers in an economy, region or a company แรงงาน
majority - more than 50 percent of a group; more than half of the people in a group ส่วนมาก เสียงส่วนมาก เสียงส่วนใหญ่ คนส่วนใหญ่
employed - have a job at a company
sector - a part of the economy ภาค (เศรษฐกิจ) (public sector = government, private sector = all businesses, household sector = families and consumers, banking sector,...) (See Wikipedia)
home to nearly 5,000 factories with a total industrial workforce of 500,000, the majority of which are employed in the seafood sector
frozen - when water turns to ice
canned and frozen seafood products
chapter - a local branch of an organization
central-region chapter.
flood - a large amount or number of something จำนวนมาก
prevention - the act of preventing something, or things that people do in order to prevent something
measures - actions taken to solve a problem มาตรการ
exercise flood prevention measures - take action to protect against flood damage
about half of the factories have yet to exercise flood-prevention measures
risk - danger, how likely or possible it is for a bad event that causes harm and damage ความเสี่ยง
factories are located below the road level, putting them at risk.
worst - most + bad
worst case - the worst situation possible
in a worst case, we project the floods will last about one month
minimise - to reduce something harmful or unpleasant to the smallest amount or degree possible ลดจำนวนลง ลดให้เหลือน้อยที่สุด
minimise damages - reduce damage to the smallest amount possible
colleagues - the people you work with (people who work together in a high-level professional job)
monitoring - regularly checking an ongoing activity or process (to check for problems or collect information) จับตาดู
monitoring the situation very closely
projected - what people believe it will in the future
path - ทาง
projected path of the water flow - the direction or path that experts believe water will flow in
lies in the projected path of the water flow - is located where the water will flow (so will flood there)
lies in the projected path of the water flow from flooded areas to the Tha Chin River.
erect - build สร้าง
barrier - anything that prevents movement past a place or prevents something from happening อุปสรรค
premises - the buildings and land that a business or organisation uses ที่ดินและสิ่งปลูกสร้าง ในที่นี้หมายถึงในรั้ว ในบริเวณทำเนียบรัฐบาล
erected a sandbag barrier around the factory's premises
on standby - available, ready to be used when needed
has several water pumps on standby
physical - real things that can be touched and seen (not just an idea or legal right)
assets - things owned, especially property and money สินทรัพย์
physical assets - physical things that you own such as house, buildings (what you usually think of as an "asset" not intellectual property such as ideas)
safeguard - protect ป้องกัน
safeguard physical assets - protect the things that you own
implemented - when a plan is put into action, actually doing the things in a plan
relief - help; assistance การช่วยให้พ้นภัย; money, food, medicine etc. that is given to help people in places where there has been a natural disaster, war, etc. เครื่องบรรเทาสาธารณภัย help for improving a bad physical condition or a bad situation การผ่อนคลาย, การบรรเทา of help given to people in need (ถุง) ยังชีพ
flood relief-measures
implemented flood-relief measures to help affected employees
evacuation - moving people from a place of danger to a safer place การอพยพ
shelter - a place where people are protected form danger or bad weather ที่หลบภัย ที่พักชั่วคราว
evacuation shelter - a place where people can live after they have left a dangerous place
volunteers - people working without (for a good cause, helping people)
assist employees evacuating their homes
directly in the flood path
depot - a building where supplies or vehicles are kept คลัง
storage - the putting and keeping of things in a special place for use in the future การเก็บ
sped up operations to meet year-end orders
disrupted - interrupted and prevented from continuing smoothly by creating problems ขัดขวาง
supplies of shrimp have not been disrupted
concerned - worried about something มีความกังวล
concerned that increasing rainfall in the south will affect supply
confident - being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future มั่นใจ
forecast - what experts believe will happen in the future; statement about what will happen in future based on information available now พยากรณ์ ทำนาย คาดการณ์
top its original forecast - be greater than its first forecast
confident its exports will top its original forecast of 8.4 billion baht
anticipates sales growth of 10% - believes that there will be 10% sales growth
industrial estates - also called "industrial parks" (See Wikipedia)
inundated industrial estates - flooded industrial estates
recede - to move back; to move further away into the distance ถอยหลัง
estimate - projected, forecast, make a guess about the future using expert knowledge
stabilise - stop changing and moving, remain at the same level
estimated the floodwater would stablilise early this month
task - a piece of work that someone does หน้าที่ ภารกิจ
expects to complete the task by Nov 25
