Bangkok floodwaters threaten central districts

Thai capital’s governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra tells residents to prepare for deluge to reach Don Muang and Chatuchak areas The governor of Bangkok has warned residents to prepare for floodwaters to reach further into the city from suburban areas. Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the flood had moved faster than anticipated and was expected to reach the Don Muang area of the Thai capital, where Bangkok’s second airport is located. The airport is being used as headquarters for the flood relief effort and as a shelter for evacuees. On Monday, water flooded roads near the airport, though one lane was still passable. Thai television showed residents leaving their houses with luggage. Air operations continued as normal, however, at Don Muang and at Bangkok’s main international airport on the other side of the city. Sukhumbhand said the water would threaten five other districts as it headed towards the city’s developed areas. Among those under threat was the Chatuchak district, popular with tourists and locals for its weekend market. “Now all indications point to only one conclusion: a critical problem will happen,” Sukhumbhand said. He told residents of the six districts to move belongings to higher ground, and said sick and older people should be evacuated to shelters. There was no indication that the capital’s inner residential and business districts were at risk. Sukhumbhand’s warning stood in contrast to assurances given earlier by the government’s flood relief operations centre. It said the situation was under control and could be expected to improve. Sukhumbhand has also been in conflict with the centre over its plans for flood relief. He is a prominent member of the opposition Democrat party. The flood agency said earlier on Sunday that the threat of floodwaters to Bangkok could ease by early November. But with the authorities battling the waters to the north, east and west of the city, Bangkok’s immediate prospects remained uncertain.. The Thai military used boats to help rescue stranded residents near Don Muang airport. Mothers walked in hip-high water with children strapped to their backs, while others waded through murky water holding belongings in plastic bags on top of their heads. In Nonthaburi province, north of Bangkok, a 2-metre (7ft) crocodile was captured while resting on dry land outside a restaurant. Thai television showed the animal, which had reportedly escaped from a farm, with its snout taped shut and its body covering most of the boat that was carrying it. Unconfirmed reports have claimed up to 100 crocodiles may have escaped from farms in the region. The prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, said the waters may take up to six weeks to recede around Bangkok. In the city and its environs, many residents were hoarding supplies and supermarket shelves were emptied. Bottled water, batteries and canned food were among the first items to go. At a supermarket in central Bangkok’s business district, which is not under immediate threat, sandbags lined both entrances forcing shoppers to step over to go inside. Many shelves were bare, with shoppers grabbing the few snacks that were left. While larger stores in Bangkok had kept prices fixed, smaller shops were raising prices in the flooded zones north of the city. A Rangsit resident, Taweetit Hongsang, complained that the price of a papaya, 10 baht (20p) a week ago, had increased to 30 baht. The battle to route floodwater away from the city has led to people removing flood barriers to try to protect their own neighbourhoods. Sukhumbhand said a crew of city workers was unable to reinforce one barrier because of “a group of people opposing the mission and harassing” them. He said it was necessary to withdraw “since they are not trained to deal with unruly and armed outsiders”. Yingluck said she had delegated high-ranking police officers to protect workers carrying out flood relief. The flooding that began in August in northern Thailand has killed 356 people and affected industry and agriculture, with estimates that the £3.8bn in damage could double if Bangkok is badly hit. The flooding is the worst to hit the country since 1942 and has proved a major test for Yingluck’s nascent government, which took power in July and has come under fire for not acting quickly or decisively enough to prevent major towns north of the capital from being hit by floodwaters. A report on state television on Sunday from Burma, Thailand’s western neighbour, said heavy rains and flash floods had killed 106 people after villages were inundated in the country’s north-west last week. Cambodia, Thailand’s eastern neighbour, has also suffered from flooding, with more than 240 people killed. Thailand Flooding Natural disasters and extreme weather guardian.co.uk

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