Thai PM holds out hope worst of floods are over
Source: Agencies |
November 1, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THAILAND'S prime minister said yesterday she hopes the process of draining floodwater through Bangkok can be speeded up now that peak high tides have passed.
Higher than normal tides pushing up the Chao Phraya River from the Gulf of Thailand have complicated efforts to drain the floodwater that has been surging through the city as it makes its way from provinces submerged for up to two months.
The runoff from the country's worst flooding in more than half a century has put pressure on the pumps, sandbags and dikes protecting Bangkok, though they have largely held.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said: "If there is no more additional water, the current runoff might not cause heavy flooding in Bangkok." But she said there was still a huge amount of water that needs to pass through the capital's network of rivers, canals and tunnels as it makes its way to the sea.
While that will come as welcome news to people in Bangkok's dry downtown core, who have been bracing for flooding all weekend, it will be little relief to those in the city's far north and west who have seen floodwaters rise and spread.
Fifteen of Bangkok's 50 districts have flooded, and people in six districts have been told to leave.
Yibporn Ratanawit, of Thonburi on the Chao Phraya's western bank, said: "The water in our neighborhood was massive and had immense power. As we were stepping out of our gate to evacuate, one of our walls collapsed. It was like a nightmare."
Higher than normal tides pushing up the Chao Phraya River from the Gulf of Thailand have complicated efforts to drain the floodwater that has been surging through the city as it makes its way from provinces submerged for up to two months.
The runoff from the country's worst flooding in more than half a century has put pressure on the pumps, sandbags and dikes protecting Bangkok, though they have largely held.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said: "If there is no more additional water, the current runoff might not cause heavy flooding in Bangkok." But she said there was still a huge amount of water that needs to pass through the capital's network of rivers, canals and tunnels as it makes its way to the sea.
While that will come as welcome news to people in Bangkok's dry downtown core, who have been bracing for flooding all weekend, it will be little relief to those in the city's far north and west who have seen floodwaters rise and spread.
Fifteen of Bangkok's 50 districts have flooded, and people in six districts have been told to leave.
Yibporn Ratanawit, of Thonburi on the Chao Phraya's western bank, said: "The water in our neighborhood was massive and had immense power. As we were stepping out of our gate to evacuate, one of our walls collapsed. It was like a nightmare."
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