Discussion
RE: https://mstdn.social/@Free_Press/117336321039642791
If you've never been there/read up on it, Bangkok's greater metropolitan area is home to over 17 million people—we're talking New York/London in scale—and is on the Chao Phraya river delta in reclaimed swampland. There are canals, and drainage is a perpetual problem.
This is as bad as the entire Netherlands facing inundation.
@larsivi Bangkok has been where it is since the 15th century, back when river travel was the main way of moving goods around that part of the world. It's been a metropolis since the late 19th century. It predates climate change. Isn't Oslo *also* a shipping hub?
@cstross Touché 😊 A river delta probably (that is the 'os' part of the name), but not so much a swamp. I suppose it is hard to blame the original builders of Bangkok, but understanding of the regional water mechanics should have been there for a while now. Willingness to do the right thing about it is probably not much there, as most such places in the world.
@larsivi Bangkok is approximately as bad for flooding as the Netherlands, only never went through a "we're a European colonial power! Let's loot the planet!" phase. It's not poor any more—per capita GDP in 2024 was nearly US $20,000/year—but it's quadrupled in population in the past 50 years and infrastructure has lagged, possibly because of Thailand's unique political problems (hint: military coups as recently as the last decade).
@cstross heartbreaking. Was there literally a month ago 🥲
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@cstross Climate yes, but building a megacity in a swamp/delta. What did they think was going to happen?