RIJSWIJK - In de nacht van zaterdag op zondag is een einde gekomen aan de zomertijd en is de wintertijd begonnen. Om 03.00 uur gingen de klokken een uur terug waardoor de zondag 25 uur duurt in plaats van de gewone 24 uur.
In 2012 gaat de zomertijd weer in op 25 maart. De wintertijd is eigenlijk de standaardtijd. Die duurt vijf maanden, van de laatste zondag van oktober tot de laatste zondag van maart. Zomer- en wintertijd werden voor het eerst ingevoerd in 1916. Vanaf het begin van de Tweede Wereldoorlog gold lange tijd alleen de standaardtijd. In 1977 werd het onderscheid weer ingevoerd.
De herinvoering in de jaren '70 was een reactie op de oliecrisis. Door in de zomer langer gebruik te maken van het zonlicht, wordt energie bespaard. Als de zomertijd ook in de winter zou gelden, dan zou het rond de jaarwisseling pas rond 9 uur 's ochtends licht worden.
In Thailand geen wintertijd maar wel lege schappen in de supermarkt, flessen water minimaal te verkrijgen of in het geheel niet.
Hua Hin heeft te kampen met een grote invasie van Bangkokianen die in verband met de watersnoodramp 5 dagen vakantie hebben verkregen van de overheid. Aangezien Hua Hin de 2e verblijfplaats is (iedereen heeft hier wel een vakantiehuisje of een bekende met een appartement in deze badplaats) heeft men besloten om hier wat dagen te verblijven.
Tesco, normaal een volle hypermarkt heeft hier ook geen rekening mee kunnen houden want bestellingen komen maar mondjesmaat binnen omdat de distributiecentra's te kampen hebben met de overstromingen in de regio Bangkok.
Suvarnabhumi airport authorities are confident they can handle the flood crisis but a team of Japanese safety experts remains concerned about its power supply sustainability, which is key to flood drainage.
Wing Cdr Suk Puangthum, Suvarnabhumi airport's deputy general manager for maintenance, was confident that its 23.5km-long dyke could keep water out of the 32 sq km airport area.
The dyke has been increased in height to 3.5m above mean sea level from the previous level of 3m, Wing Cdr Suk said.
The canal outside was now only 0.8 metres above sea level.
He added there were two reservoirs, each only at 25% of its full capacity of 4 million cubic metres.
Senior airport technicians briefed two senior Japanese officials _ Michio Higashijima, director of international affairs for airport planning and construction at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and Norifumi Yoshida, chief of airport engineering for the MLIT Civil Aviation Bureau _ who flew in from Japan to support flood-prevention efforts. They were also taken on an inspection tour.
The Japanese embassy's economic minister, Masato Otaka, said the Thai government had asked the two experts to look at how the airport could cope with the floods.
The experts told reporters after the two-hour briefing and inspection of Suvarnabhumi airport's pumping stations, reservoirs and power stations that authorities were well prepared, but the flood crisis was not something that could be precisely predicted. They needed more time to study the details, and particularly the blueprint of the airport layout.
Asked if they were concerned about the internal power supply, the experts said the airport's strategic flood-prevention system was the dyke, and any water trickling into the airport could be pumped out.
"If the electrical control centres malfunction due to water leaking into the system and the pumps cannot get rid of the water fast enough, the power supply might be affected," they said.
Amnuay Sarachart, Suvarnabhumi's vice-president in charge of the electrical and mechanical department, said the airport has been given the same priority as Siriraj Hospital, where His Majesty the King is staying.
Executive vice-president and deputy general manager Narongchai Tanadchangsaeng said the dyke would make the airport an island when there is flooding. However, he conceded that if water levels top the dyke, there would be damage.
Meanwhile, railway experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency's disaster relief team advised the Mass Rapid Transit network (MRT) to focus on four aspects in defending the subway system.
Tokyo Metro's Yoshio Otsuki and Masamichi Ono said the MRT should pay attention to the station entrances, air vents, train tracks and connections to buildings.
After seeing the MRT's defence system, they were confident the stations could withstand floods.
Ronnachit Yaemsa-ard, MRT's deputy governor for operations, said the agency installed floodboards in risk zones and closed some entrances in the red zones.
Mr Ronnachit said the floodboards were designed to withstand floods of up to 3.5m above sea level. The government predicts a maximum level of 1.75-2m. The air vents are not a concern since they are five metres above street level, he said.
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