BANGKOK – Thailand’s prime minister said Bangkok was fighting the forces of nature yesterday as floodwater threatened to break through dikes protecting the capital and residents took to the road after the government told them to leave if they could.
The country’s worst flooding in half a century, caused in part by unusually heavy monsoon rain, has killed 373 people since mid-July and disrupted the lives of nearly 2.5 million, until now mostly in the north and central provinces.
But prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra told reporters the crisis had now reached a critical point for Bangkok. “It seems like we’re fighting against the forces of nature, massive floodwater that is causing damage to several of our dikes,” she said.
As Ms Yingluck’s voice started to tremble, reporters asked if she was crying. “No, I haven’t cried and I won’t. I’ll be strong to solve this problem for the Thai people. Right now we need to release floodwater to the sea as soon as possible and we need a quick rehabilitation plan,” she said.
Traffic in central Bangkok was light as a five-day holiday, declared by Ms Yingluck’s government so people could leave Bangkok, began. However, a main road out of the city to the flood-free south was jammed.
Many people were going to the seaside towns of Hua Hin and Pattaya, where hotel rooms and homes to rent were hard to find.
Bangkok, a city of at least 12 million people that accounts for 41 per cent of Thai GDP, is in danger from run-off water from the north coinciding with high tides on the Chao Phraya river, which is already at a record high level in places.
The Thai defence ministry said 50,000 armed forces personnel were standing by with 1,000 boats and 1,000 trucks for evacuation. City authorities said a third Bangkok district was in danger.
Thailand is reckoned to the world’s biggest breeder of crocodiles and scores are reported to have escaped from farms during the floods. Several have been killed or captured in residential areas in the ancient capital of Ayutthaya. – (Reuters)