Inner city spared from floods, says Yingluck

Inner Bangkok has been saved from the floods, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday.

"It's certain the inner zone of Bangkok will be safe from floods, as the measures to hold floodwaters have been successful," 

Ms Yingluck said in the Yingluck Government Meets the People programme from Bali, Indonesia, where she attended the Asean Summit.

The government's Flood Relief Operations Command (Froc) was able to block floodwater along the Bang Sue canal.

As a result, the floods would not reach inner Bangkok, including the Victory Monument, Pathumwan, Sukhumvit and Silom.

For areas to the west of the Chao Phraya, floodwaters in the northern parts of districts such as Bang Phlat, Bangkok Noi, Taling Chan, Bang Kae, Phutthamonthon, Bang Kruai and Nakhon Chaisi have already subsided, she said.

The Royal Irrigation Department was able to drain about 63 million cubic metres of floodwater a day from the western side of the Chao Phraya, Ms Yingluck said.

Flood levels in the western districts would gradually reduce.

Disputes between flood-hit residents in areas above and below the big-bag barrier and floodwall along the Bangkok-Pathum Thani border in Don Muang and Sai Mai districts had been settled through negotiations.

Authorities had agreed to accept some of the residents' demands while trying to stick to their flood relief plan, a major component of which is protecting Bangkok's economic areas.

Road transport links to the South were unlikely to be cut by floods, as the danger of flooding on Rama II Road, the main route to the region, had largely passed. 

Even if Rama II Road was flooded, it would not be serious, said the prime minister.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) had installed 26 more water pumps at various pumping stations to drain floodwater out of the capital through Thawi Watthana, Phasi Charoen, Mahachai-Sanam Chai canals and the Tha Chin River. 

The BMA would install 14 additional water pumps to accelerate the draining, he said.

MR Sukhumbhand added the BMA would widen the sluice gate of the Thawi Watthana canal by another 50cm to speed up drainage.

The BMA would have to build permanent floodwalls along the Mahasawat canal to prevent future flooding from the North, he said. 

The government should also consider building barriers along the Mahasawat canal in Nonthaburi province as well.

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported that almost two million households in 18 provinces in the Central Plains and the Northeast are still affected by floods. 

Since July 25, 595 people have been killed in the floods, and two are missing.