BANGKOK (Reuters): Floodwater encircled two industrial estates in the
east of Bangkok on Monday and disrupted bus services in the Thai
capital, although mass transit train systems were still running and
central commercial districts remained dry.
Starting in the north
and northeast of the country in late July, the water has slowly moved
south, overwhelming industrialised provinces and rice areas in the
centre and moving slowly into Bangkok over the past three weeks. Somkid
Tanwatanakul, deputy governor of the Industrial Estate Authority of
Thailand (IEAT), told Reuters floodwater had reached the vicinity of the
Lat Krabang Industrial Estate but the situation inside the zone was
"still normal".
"The water has surrounded the complex over the past few days with a level now as high as 1.4-1.5 metres," Somkid said.
"We
have strengthened dikes around the estate to 2.60 metres (8.5 feet)
high. My worry is if this much water continues to hold for a long time
with nowhere to go, the estate might not make it."
The estate,
which is 10 km (6 miles) north of Bangkok's main Suvarnabhumi airport,
covers nearly 1,040 acres and employs almost 50,000 workers in 254
factories making car parts, electrical appliances, food and beverage.
Among
the international firms there are consumer goods giant Unilever Pcl ,
Johnson & Johnson , Isuzu Motors and Honda Motor Co .
It was a similar picture at the Bang Chan estate nearby.
"Our
factory is still dry but outside, it isn't," Yaowaret Kanjanachotkamol,
a marketing manager at President Bakery Pcl, said. "We have started to
see water in some parts of the estate."
The government's flood
crisis centre said residents of 11 districts in Bangkok had been told to
evacuate and partial evacuation zones had been declared in another
seven.
But it said its use of so-called Big Bags - huge sandbags
weighing 2.5 tonnes - to build a protective wall 18 kms (10 miles) long
across the north of the city appeared to have been successful in
reducing flows into the inner city along the first 6 kms constructed.
WEEKEND MARKET OPEN
The government says 506 people have been killed and 25 of the country's 77 provinces are currently affected.
The
Chatuchak district in northern Bangkok was among the latest to be
issued with an evacuation order as floodwater moved in over the weekend,
although its huge market, popular with tourists and locals alike,
remained open. The overhead Skytrain, whose northern terminus is by the
market, is running normally, as is the underground MRT system, which
goes through the area. But many poorer residents rely on buses to get
around and they were having more trouble.
Saitarn Siriatcharanon,
56, told Reuters Television she had been struggling for six hours to
reach her son in the flooded area, whereas normally the same journey
would take 30 minutes.
Bangkok Mass Transportation announced the
suspension of bus services in the flooded areas, with military trucks
offering an alternative in places. "I think it will take at least a
month for the situation to get better," said student Tanida
Aupornrungrat, a view shared by the authorities, who are having to
import pumps to help.
Floodwater is heading towards Victory
Monument, where many buses leave Bangkok for other towns. Rama II Road, a
major highway to the rubber-producing south of the country, which has
not been affected by the floods so far, is also threatened.
Innovative
read: Raihan (centre) getting a closer look at the Plantations
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