Thailand Floods 2011: Bangkok Braces For Arrival Of Floods (PHOTOS)

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai authorities are building sandbag barricades in the capital Bangkok to protect it from the worst floods in decades that have already killed nearly 270 people across the country.

Thailand has been hit by its worst floods in five decades. Reuters reports that although the capital has only seen minor flooding in the past weeks, officials fear that conditions will worsen after October 13. High spring tides are expected to block water from the Chao Phrava River from flowing into the sea, potentially causing massive floading in the Thai capital.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Monday that government workers have two days to build three major water barricades to prevent flooding in Bangkok before runoff from the north reaches the capital. Unusually high ocean tides are expected to worsen the flooding.

Although Thailand has been hit by floods in the past, analysts argue this time the damages might be more severe. According to The Wall Street Journal, Thailand's Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala said the country's central bank estimates that the flood damage could reach $2 billion.

"The key difference to us is that this time round the direct damage to the industrial sector seems to be worse than before, as many of the industrial estates in the central region have been hit hard, with factories reportedly having to halt operation," The Wall Street Journal quotes from a Credit Suisse report. Reuters reports that 198 factories already have been forced to close in the flood-stricken province of Ayutthaya after water breached a wall of sandbags.

Thailand's Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department says 269 people have died, mostly from drowning, since tropical storms began hitting Thailand at the end of July. It says 8.2 million people in 60 of the country's 77 provinces have been affected by floods and mudslides, and 30 provinces are currently inundated.

Comments

[maytinhxachtay]

11:39 PM on 11/01/2011

I was in Viet Nam. we support a working day in Thailand. I hope Thailand will soon overcome this difficulty

[philliplojek]

10:27 AM on 10/11/2011

Blame Bush.

[philliplojek]

10:26 AM on 10/11/2011

Did America send millions in aid yet that we don't have?

[daniel o]

10:40 PM on 10/12/2011

let me guess...you are one of those christians.

[Erica Wayne]

04:30 AM on 10/11/2011

Hi Friend, I going bangkok on NOV can anyone tell me is CITY AREA FLOODED?
Thanks...

[Rock Fossil]

05:53 AM on 10/11/2011

Condoms, when fully inflated make great flotation devices. I think it was Thor Heyerdahl who crossed both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in his craft aptly named, "the Con-dom Tiki".

[Thenonyak]

09:22 AM on 10/11/2011

The city is not flooded yet. The pictures in this article are of a city to the north of Bangkok. Later this week might be a different story.

[Erica Wayne]

09:54 AM on 10/11/2011

It's really make me worry... I have keep email to Bangkok the hotel I book... They say it's not flooded... But the news has keep saying that the flood will go into city area soon... I check w my airline they do not want to refund , even if I change to other location I need to top up... :(

[Derek Lantin]

02:54 AM on 10/11/2011

A somewhat "posed" top photograph, I think.
The two girls are up up to their waists in water,but just a short distance away the cars are clearly in only a few inches of water.

[circlebprod]

08:14 AM on 10/11/2011

look at it again, the girls are sitting down

[Derek Lantin]

08:15 PM on 10/11/2011

thanks, I must need glasses !

[americaisracist]

10:22 PM on 10/11/2011

they are using the bathroom

[Sunwyn Ravenwood]

11:40 PM on 10/10/2011

I do hope they will take this as the warning it is and move the government to higher ground. I am not familiar with the topography of Thailand, but there must be high ground somewhere. Increased rainfall in South Asia and Southeast Asia is going to result in massive flooding in the coming decades.

[Thenonyak]

09:15 AM on 10/11/2011

Move 'the Government' to higher ground'? This is something all governments might aspire to. However, the government here is widely accepted as being managed from Dubai! If you read the article you will see that most of the flooding is currently to the north of Bangkok in Ayutthaya (the ancient capital). The reason that massive flooding is expected here later this week is because all this water has to drain to the ocean through the Chao Phraya River which runs through the middle of Bangkok. The famous Oriental Hotel, the Peninsula and the Sheraton and others are all on this river, which snakes its way through the heart of the city and, with the expected high tide later this week, the already bursting river will be unable to drain into the Gulf of Thailand. Take a good look at Bangkok on Google Earth - approximately eleven million people live in this city.

[Drmhp]

10:43 PM on 10/10/2011

Wow a friend of mine is flying into bangkok tomorrow for a month vacation.

[mrkurtzhedead]

10:09 AM on 10/11/2011

No big deal as there is no flooding here yet. If it does flood your friend should go south where there is no flooding.

[johnfnlennon]

09:50 PM on 10/10/2011

You have to admire their spirit.

[momofvegasgirls]

02:10 AM on 10/11/2011

Wow, who are the "they" to which you refer? The visitors that use the place as their bordello? I don't think it's the locals discarding all those condoms.

[Derek Lantin]

02:50 AM on 10/11/2011

well said.