Thai Flood Hacks: DIY Disaster Relief in Bangkok

by Jordan Yerman | November 17, 2011 at 09:00 am

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Hacking the Flood in Bangkok

Thailand's citizens have to deal with the epic flooding on their own. If you've ever been to Bangkok and looked up, you've seen how resourceful the Thai people can be in managing their urban environments. Whatever the state fails to maintain, the people will find a way to fix. It may not quite be up to OSHA code, but it'll probably work.

We're talking about Thai flood hacks, compiled into a handy Tumblr by Jan.

Suddenly all those plastic water bottles become useful to everyone, rather than just tourists with nervous stomachs. You can use them to make a life-vest for your dog.

The laundry tubs you see in the back rooms of guest houses? Add some plastic netting and a wooden frame, and you have a homebrew raft.

Waist-deep water makes riding your motorcycle impossible? Go-Go Gadget Wheels!

You can't hate the extend-o-matic tuk-tuk.

If you run a supermarket, your own shopping carts become a flood-defying bridge.

While the Thai government contemplates building a super-canal, everyday citizens are not waiting around for some massive (and at this point hypothetical) infrastructure project. While authorities promise that the main streets of Bangkok will be dry in two weeks, that's two weeks too long for families that need to go about their business today.