Airport flooded

Hundreds of thousands of people have had to leave their homes in the capital

The waters have now reached the Chatuchak market, a major outdoor shopping centre and tourist attraction north of the business district.

Many of the thousands of storeholders have followed official advice and temporarily shut up shop.

"There will be no-one able to come around to sell and to buy. So, doesn't make sense to keep the market open," Tinnakorn Rujinarong, deputy director of the market, told the Reuters news agency.

But others have refused to close, saying they could not risk losing what trade there was.

"When tourists come here to find this place closed down for too long, they will not come back again. And it will take a long time to bring the market back to booming again," said one food stall trader.

The city's second airport, Don Muang, is under water but the main international airport at Suvarnabhumi and the city's transport system are still operating.

Emergency workers are continuing to distribute sandbags and attempting to divert the water through canals.

However some residents on the edges of Bangkok have accused the authorities of sacrificing their homes to save the commercial centre.