BANGKOK—Residents in low-lying areas of Bangkok have been stockpiling food and sandbagging homes and businesses as severe floodwaters threaten parts of the city.
Water levels in the Chao Phraya River, which runs through the city of around 10 million people, have been rising steadily over the past month and some parts of the city adjacent the river or canals have already been swamped.
The government’s 11th-hour anti-flood measures have included building three more floodwalls along the Chao Phraya River with the hope that this will boost the city’s ability to deal with the large amounts of water pouring in from the north.
However authorities are warning that large parts of the Thai capital could be severely flooded as early as Thursday when a combination of increased water from overflowing dams and rising sea tides could possibly burst the river’s banks. The tide is expected to peak over the weekend.
Alarm bells began ringing in earnest for many Bangkok residents when in a televised address last Friday, the country’s Prime Minster Yingluck Shinawatra said that the “widespread flood problem is reaching crisis level, the worst in decades.”
Just 50 miles north of Bangkok, the ancient city of Ayutthaya and its surrounding areas have been heavily swamped by floodwater since Monday, stranding thousands and forcing the shutdown of a large industrial area, which includes factories and car plants.
With a flood crisis on their doorstep, Bangkokians have been progressively stocking up on foodstuff and, as of this week, more and more residents and business owners have been preparing sandbags to hold the possible floodwaters at bay.
Since late July, Thailand has been suffering heavier than usual monsoon rains which have contributed to the deaths of nearly 270 people mostly in the central and northern parts of the country.
Described as the worst flooding that Thailand has faced in five decades, authorities say that over 2 million people have been affected and that 3.4 million acres of farmland have already been inundated.
In neighboring Cambodia, large areas of the countryside have also been suffering monsoonal flooding with reports saying that over 200 people have been killed due to flood related causes.
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