Floods and runflats

Flooding has also occurred sooner than usual in the central and northern regions. Instead of October, these regions were inundated early this month, with higher flood levels than the record year of 1995. The floods will also last longer than a month.

I have grown up with floods. My hometown is in the central region alongside the Chao Phya River, which floods every year. This year, my house, which has been elevated by 1.20 metres, has been flooded to a depth of 2 metres, which means the water was higher than 3 metres, and there are signs that it could get worse.

From my experience with floods, I know that what people need the most right now is clean water for drinking and cooking. Although there is water everywhere, it is dirty and not fit for human consumption. Next are sanitation systems that work. Most toilets are beneath the floods, except for those in two-storey houses - but even then, it is difficult to use them.

Another thing that people really need, especially after living in a flood for more than two weeks, is something to relieve their stress. Imagine having to look at the surrounding water every day and not being able to go anywhere. The electricity is also cut to prevent electrocution, and there is no tap water because the water pumps cannot be used. All these things add to the stresses on people in flooded areas.

I visited my relatives when the flood was just beginning. Many families in the area had enough experience to begin moving their valuables to the second floor. Automobiles were moved to areas that were not affected by the water, and pickups with fibreglass beds became mobile homes.

Diesel pickups became the leading vehicles, because they could still be used to move things around, while passenger cars were left parked because they were unable to handle high water levels. This is one reason that has kept pickup sales alive in many provincial areas.

While talking to relatives in the flooded area, a high-ranking government official happened to visit, and he asked me an interesting question about tyres.

He said there were currently many vehicles that came with very small "compact" spare tyres, while others use "runflat" tyres. He wanted to know what kind of spare tyre should be used if the vehicle had runflat tyres; if a runflat tyre was damaged, could it be replaced by a normal tyre, or only by another runflat tyre?

I have mentioned many times that compact spare tyres should be used only when needed, and then kept in areas where they impose the least weight on the vehicle - at the rear end. The driver should also use lower speeds than normal, and when the damaged tyre is repaired, it should be put back as soon as possible. The compact spare should then be put back into the trunk.

The compact spare should also be checked regularly - at least once a month - for both the condition of the rubber and the tyre pressure. Since it is slimmer than regular tyres, if there is a tiny leak, the remaining pressure may not be adequate to handle the weight of the vehicle when it is needed.

Meanwhile, runflat tyres are designed to allow the vehicle to be driven further despite there being no air pressure in the tyre. The tyre walls are very strong, so that they help to support the vehicle and don't wobble when the vehicle is moving. However, the speed should be kept down, especially on winding roads or in wet and slippery conditions.

When a runflat tyre is damaged beyond repair, the replacement should also be a runflat tyre of the same size as the original one. If it is not possible to find a runflat tyre in the area, then you can use a normal tyre as a temporary spare. But you shouldn't use it for long, because the tyre walls are not as hard as those on the runflats and this could disrupt the balance of the vehicle.

However, if you really need to travel further at high speed and you can't find a replacement runflat tyre, then change both rear tyres to normal tyres, and use the original runflats in front. At least the vehicle's balance will be better than when changing just one tyre.