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Saturday, October 8, 2011

Bangkok under threat from flood

"The flooding situation is now considered a serious crisis," Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said in a nationally televised address, noting that 252 people have died across the country due to more than two months of heavy rains. While the capital has so far escaped major flooding, Yingluck said the city of 12 million people would not escape unscathed. "It is going to directly affect Bangkok," she said. Homes, roads and factories are already inundated just north of the low-lying capital and more storms are expected in the days to come. Many residents in affected areas have ignored the government s appeal to evacuate to safe areas, preferring to stay and guard homes submerged by the rising waters.The authorities raced to put up flood walls alongside canals and rivers on Bangkok s northern outskirts as huge amounts of muddy water flow down river. "Nothing could be worse than the current situation, but the most important thing is to prevent flooding in Bangkok and two industrial estates" north of the city, said Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi. A key test is expected in mid-October, when large amounts of run-off water reach the capital and high tides make it harder for the floods to flow out to sea.