Bangkok braces for unstoppable flood waters
Millions of people in the Thai capital nervously prepared for the advancing and seemingly unstoppable flood waters today after a fresh warning for residents to evacuate certain danger zones.
Bangkok authorities yesterday said that large volumes of water were flowing towards low-lying Bangkok and were closing in on six city districts, including areas just north of the city centre.
The announcement came after the Thai government said it would set up a distribution centre in the capital to help replenish empty supermarket shelves in preparation for the floods that have so far largely spared the city.
Other parts of the country have been plagued by three months of heavy monsoon rains, which have killed more than 350 people in Thailand and damaged the homes and livelihoods of nine million people.
The six Bangkok districts now of pressing concern include Chatujak, home to a giant weekend market popular with tourists, and Don Mueang, where the city's second largest airport is currently doubling up as a flood refuge centre.
Airport officials said the roads by the terminals were swamped by 70-80 centimetres of water and had become impassable for small vehicles, though the Don Mueang compound itself remained dry for now.
"If anything affects Bangkok it will have an impact on the whole country, so it's very important to take care of Bangkok in order for the country to survive," city governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said in a televised address today.
Yesterday his administration called on residents in the six critical districts who faced "potential dangers to lives and properties" to evacuate to emergency shelters.
"In particular, priority must be assigned to the sick, young and elderly," said the statement, asking the public not to panic.
Hundreds of worried residents have parked cars on bridges and elevated roads. Adding to concerns were photographs and televised footage of sizeable crocodiles captured by villagers and authorities in a province north of Bangkok, after a number of the reptiles escaped from flooded farms.
The World Health Organisation has warned that infections, water-borne and communicable diseases, such as diarrhoea, were key concerns for flood victims, who were also warned to be beware of electrocution and snake bites.
Hospitals in flood-risk zones have been told by the public health ministry to stockpile medicines and other supplies to last as long as three weeks
