Bangkok’s 10 million residents survived a nervous weekend when river defenses held against rising levels of the Chao Phraya River brought on by larger than usual monsoonal rains, swollen dams, and high estuary tides.
“The government’s operations are proceeding well ... As for the current water level, it is satisfactory and it’s quite certain that water will not flood Bangkok,” said Police General Pongsapat Pongcharoen, a spokesman at a government crisis centre, according to Reuters.
However, the threat of danger remains and authorities continue to take measures, be they the dredging of canals or the questionable use of riverboats propelling water downstream.
The river’s levels are feared to be rise by another high tide later this month, and the sandbags in front of homes and businesses are expected to remain in place for a while yet.
Meteorologists are foreseeing further rain to fall upon much of the already flood-affected areas for the week to come.
Since late July, Thailand has been suffering heavier than usual monsoon rains which have caused what have been described as the worst flooding the country has faced in five decades. Nearly 300 people have died as a result and there are fears of an escalating humanitarian crisis.
“It’s easy to focus on what is happening inside Bangkok but outside of the city, in the north, and in the centre [of Thailand], there are a lot of people who need of a lot of assistance. It’s quite a serious situation,” Matthew Cochrane, a spokesperson with the International Red Cross, told The Epoch Times.
“About a third of the country has been affected, and it’s about 2.3 million people who have had to evacuate their homes because of the water that has been coming down for about the past three and a half months, since the flooding started,” he said.
Over three million acres of agricultural land has been flooded, said Mr Cochrane, who added that this will impact household income and food security.
Some of the worst flooding is occurring 50 miles north of Bangkok where the ancient city of Ayutthaya and its surrounding areas have been heavily swamped by floodwater since Monday Oct.10, stranding thousands and forcing the shutdown of five industrial areas, including factories and car plants.
The U.S. has flown to Thailand a humanitarian assistance survey team and is providing three million baht (US$97,529) to the Thai Red Cross Society.
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