Tens of thousands of people fled the Thai capital today ahead of a high tide expected to worsen floods that have inundated factories and prompted foreign governments to warn their citizens to stay away.
Bangkok's Chao Phraya River is expected to burst its banks over the weekend during the unusually high tide that begins today, causing some flooding in nearby areas. Buildings across Bangkok have been sand-bagged for protection, and some vulnerable streets were nearly deserted.
Thailand's worst floods in half a century, caused in part by unusually heavy monsoon rain, have killed 377 people since mid-July and disrupted the lives of nearly 2.2 million, until now mostly in the north and central provinces.
"I want people to accept the problem, which will last for at least two months because a lot of water is expected to arrive," defence minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa told reporters. "We'll try to fix the situation."
Television footage showed cars and trucks bumper-to-bumper leaving the city but the traffic department said it could not put an exact figure on the size of Bangkok's exodus because much of its monitoring equipment was under water. Airport and bus departure lounges were also packed.
The government declared a five-day holiday yesterday to allow people to leave. Roads out of the city to the flood-free south were jammed. Many were heading for the seaside town of Hua Hin and the eastern resort city of Pattaya, where hotel
rooms and homes to rent were scarce.
Bangkok, a low-lying city of at least 12 million that accounts for 41 pe rcent of Thailand's $319 billion economy, is in danger from run-off water from the north coinciding with the high tide on the Chao Phraya, already at a record high level.
Prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the government has scrapped a proposal to dig channels into some roads in eastern Bangkok to drain water into the Gulf of Thailand, an idea backed by the chairman of the Thailand unit of Toyota, whose factories have been badly flooded.
Authorities warned residents near the Chao Phraya they could face rising waters. Roads around the Grand Palace, a top tourist attraction, were already partially flooded along with some streets in densely populated Chinatown.
A two-metre snake was caught by a taxi driver in front of the Grand Palace, an area normally bustling with tourists. Residents have also had to contend with crocodiles escaping from flooded farms.
While many of the inner-city streets of Bangkok remained dry, many suburbs were hit by surging floodwaters.
In a shantytown in Bang Phlad district, small wooden homes were knee-deep in foul-smelling water with rubbish floating on its surface. Residents carried belongings above their heads, struggling against the current of water pumped back out to the nearby river.
Tem Kaewkeow (73), sat on a pile of tyres, staring at the blank screen of a half-submerged television set. "Everything is damaged, but what can I do? This is the force of nature," he said, shirtless and sipping on water he had boiled on a small gas stove. "I don't plan to leave. This is my home."
In Nonthaburi province bordering Bangkok, walls of sandbags collapsed under the weight of surging floodwaters.
The defence ministry said 50,000 armed forces personnel were standing by with 1,000 boats and 1,000 vehicles to help evacuate people. A government crisis centre said there would be evacuation centres soon in eight provinces that could take in between 100,000 and 200,000 people.
Prices of eggs and water-proof boots rose sharply, causing the government to assure anxious flood victims they would have enough bottled drinking water, dairy products, pork, chicken and other supplies.
Cash was also in heavy demand. The Bank of Thailand repeated that there was enough money circulating to meet demand for three months following a crush of withdrawals. Nearly 400 bank branches have closed across the country due to the floods.
The economic toll continued to pile up across Thailand, Southeast Asia's biggest auto production hub and a major base for multinational companies, many of which face supply and production disruptions after the floods shuttered at least seven huge industrial estates north of Bangkok.
Reuters