Times 2

Thai PM says floods to ease as river defences hold

BANGKOK, Oct 29 (AFP) - Floods engulfing parts of the Thai capital should start to recede soon, the prime minister said today after barriers along Bangkok's swollen main river prevented a disastrous overflow.

The city of 12 million people was on heightened alert because of a seasonal high tide that was expected to coincide with the arrival of runoff water from the central plains, where people have endured weeks of flood misery.

Thai children swim in front of Buddha statues in a market in Bangkok. AFP

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who has previously warned the floods could last for weeks, said the authorities had sped up the flow of runoff through canals in the east and west of the capital. "If everyone works hard ... then the floodwater in Bangkok will start to recede in the first week of November," Yingluck said in a weekly radio and television address to the nation.

Yingluck later told reporters she expected the situation "will improve in one or two days". She added: "Thais must closely monitor the situation during high tide. Please be a bit patient and after that I believe the water level will start to recede because the water flow is easing and part of it is flowing into canals."

Yingluck, the sister of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has been in office for barely two months and her administration has faced criticism for giving confusing advice about the extent of the flood threat.

For a third day running there was minor flooding in Bangkok's riverside areas, including by the Grand Palace, but the high tide of 2.5 metres (eight feet) above sea level was lower than feared and most of the city was dry.

"I'm not too worried. It's only a little bit of water. It's not similar to outside Bangkok," said Sidaphat Ausanarassamee, 32, standing behind a wall of sandbags in front of her shop in the Chinatown area.
"It affects my business. Nobody is buying anything," she added, laughing, as children played in knee-high water in the street and orange-clad monks snapped pictures of the scene with their mobile telephones.

Within Bangkok, residential areas in the northern outskirts of the city, as well as on the western side of the Chao Phraya river have so far been the worst hit, with water waist-deep in places.

The government warned residents in the west of the capital to stockpile tap water because supplies will be limited at times as a result of contamination from rubbish and industrial plants. The government announced it was moving its emergency flood relief centre from the city's second airport Don Mueang after rising water led to a power blackout.

Tens of thousands of residents have left Bangkok, with many heading to coastal resorts away from the path of the water, after the government declared a special five-day holiday. Yingluck said the break might be extended.

Top to the page  |  E-mail  |  views[1]
SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
 
Other Times 2 Articles
Commonwealth leaders told summit risks being a failure
Thai PM says floods to ease as river defences hold
Syrians urge protection as Assad’s forces kill 40
Tunisian Islamists celebrate election triumph but violence in cradle of revolt
Generators taken from anti-Wall St protesters
Aspirin every day can cut cancer risk by 60%: British scientists
7 billion people: It means 7 billion possibilities
If the Libyan war was about saving lives, it was a catastrophic failure
Revulsion, resistance and angry words from Tripoli University
Saif: Libyan reformer or playboy revolutionary?
Gaddafi: How he died matters
Imran Khan reunited with Jemima in fight against drone attacks
Girls equal in British throne succession
'Wife-sharing' among brothers
Politics of China-India collision at sea
A real-life 'Slumdog Millionaire'

 

 
Reproduction of articles permitted when used without any alterations to contents and a link to the source page.
© Copyright 1996 - 2011 | Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka. All Rights Reserved | Site best viewed in IE ver 8.0 @ 1024 x 768 resolution