Thailand Fights Floods Threatening Bangkok, 10 Regions at ‘Critical’ Risk

Oct 15, 2011
By Supunnabul Suwannakij
Bloomberg

Thai villagers wade through floodwaters in Pak Kred district in Nonthaburi province, Thailand Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. Flooding that has devastated great areas of northern and central Thailand and taken nearly 300 lives since July is threatening to seep into the capital, though officials say they can keep it out of the central part of the city. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said 10 provinces in the country are still at “critical risk” from flooding, and authorities are widening canals to protect Bangkok and the main international airport.

“The government has to protect strategic areas and the heart of the economy including industrial and business zones, provincial capitals, Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi airport and evacuation centers,” Yingluck said today in a nationwide television and radio address.

Bangkok authorities are rushing to widen canals and bolster flood barriers around the city of 9.7 million people to save the capital from floods that crippled manufacturing hubs in central provinces last week. Yingluck said the disaster, which has killed almost 300 people and displaced more than 2 million more, is the worst in the nation’s history.

“We are working on solving the crisis and will introduce long-term measures to prevent it from happening again,” Yingluck said. “This disaster has caused the greatest loss and is the most severe in Thailand’s history.”

At least 297 people have been killed since monsoon rains began lashing Thailand in late July, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Yingluck said the situation remains “critical” in 10 of the 26 provinces still affected by flooding.

Floodwaters last week swamped industrial estates in Ayutthaya province, 67 kilometers (42 miles) north of Bangkok, halting production at factories operated by Japanese manufacturers including Nikon Corp. (7731) and Pioneer Corp.

Factories Damaged

A Thai woman sits inn her house flooded in Pak Kred district in Nonthaburi province, Thailand, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. Flooding that has devastated great areas of northern and central Thailand and taken nearly 300 lives since July is threatening to seep into the capital, though officials say they can keep it out of the central part of the city. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

The cost of the disaster may rise to as much as 120 billion baht ($3.9 billion), and force the central bank to cut its forecast for economic growth this year, Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said yesterday. A total of 930 factories nationwide have been damaged, according to data from the Ministry of Industry.

“The flooding impact on the whole economy will depend on the rehabilitation process after this,” Prasarn said. “We need to monitor the situation closely.”

Yingluck’s two-month-old administration is balancing needs to protect Bangkok from inundation while evacuating people and delivering aid to areas outside the capital’s flood barriers that are already under as much as a meter of water.

“The government realizes that people have already suffered from this disaster for three months,” Yingluck said. “It’s our priority to solve the problem.”

Thailand suffers from seasonal floods around the same time each year, though a southwest monsoon and five tropical storms in recent months have made this year’s deluge the most severe in terms of damage and loss of life, Yingluck said.

Drainage Efforts

Water levels in central Nakohn Sawan province have stabilized after dams reduced the amount of water released downstream, Yingluck said. Water levels rose in Ayutthaya yesterday, though authorities are working to improve drainage.

“The government will accelerate water drainage from the Chao Phraya river into the sea and through the eastern and western sides of Bangkok,” Yingluck said.

Authorities have finished widening three canals to accelerate drainage and will widen another four near the capital, she said. Three flood barriers in the city have been extended over the past few days, Yingluck said.

Four provinces in Thailand’s south are at risk from flash floods and landslides, the nation’s disaster agency said today on its website. Heavy rains are expected in central and eastern provinces and in Bangkok on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17, it said. Train services to northern Thailand remain suspended, it said.

The U.S. government is providing 28 helicopters to help search for missing flood victims and transport heavy equipment, Yingluck said. The first helicopter will arrive in 24 hours, she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Supunnabul Suwannakij in Bangkok at ssuwannakij@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tony Jordan at tjordan3@bloomberg.net