Popular blue whales battle a sea of misinformation about crisis

A pod of animated blue whales has proved an online hit helping educate the public about the flood threat, amid a sea of what the producers say is misinformation and political double-talk.

Calculating that the amount of water hovering above Bangkok is the equivalent of 50 million blue whales trying to make their way into the Gulf of Thailand, the young animators have come up with a humorous _ and highly informative take _ on the problems the whales have navigating canals, rivers and urban settings.

It's a simple technique, however the Understanding Flooding video, which can be viewed on YouTube with English subtitles, works.

As of yesterday, the video, which was released on YouTube early last week, had over 600,000 hits, with 16,000 ''likes'' and only 60 ''dislikes''. The comments reflect a general opinion that the five-minute clip is fun and makes a complex issue easy to understand.

The video is a result of the producers' frustration about the information provided in the public arena about the flooding. Kriangkrai Vachiratamtorn, the founder of the animators' group Roo Su Flood (Know, Fight, Flood) said information released by the government and other agencies was not helping people prepare for the deluge.

'''We are not only being flooded by floodwaters, but also by information,'' said Mr Kriangkrai.

''There is a lot of information which is useless and which is mixed in with people's attitudes. I personally want information which really means something to me. And that's when I thought it was time to communicate about the flooding in a way that is helpful and easy to understand.''

Mr Kriangkrai is a graduate in mass communications, and a film director. He had the video-making skills, but not the scientific background to produce such a video.

The group sought the help of Thai PBS TV station and experts to come up with the video, which explains the causes of the flooding.

One challenge was how to convey the concept of the massive amount of floodwaters flowing towards Bangkok.

Mr Kriangkrai said they came up with several ideas before settling on a blue whale as their messenger.

''I think a whale can help people visualise something big, and if a whale was in their house, they would immediately understand the troubles they are facing.

''We put many whales in a house, a city, and such. From the responses we have obtained so far, it works.''

The group's next video project will cover issues such as how to measure water levels at home and preparing to live with flooding. The whale will not make a second appearance, despite its popularity.

''We speak about the matters that we also want to know too,'' said Mr Kriangkrai.
 The video can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8zAAEDGQPM&feature=related