Flood backlash swamps Thai PM

A makeshift wharf serves as a bus ramp in Bangkok, while some residents have dismantled barriers to allow the water to drain away.

A VAST and filthy sea of monsoon floodwater is creeping ever closer to central Bangkok, swamping large tracts of the country, leaving at least 530 people dead, crippling industry and eroding the once solid popularity of Thailand's novice Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The youngest sister of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister ousted in a coup in 2006, Ms Yingluck, 44, is a former businesswoman with almost no hands-on political experience.

The floods have been devastating Thailand for three months, and Ms Yingluck has been trying to manage the flood strategy since soon after she was elected in a landslide in July. Few believe she has managed it adequately.

This week she again batted aside speculation she would stand down, saying: "People supported and voted for me, so I want to continue my work to the best of my ability."

Handled well, natural disasters can give politicians a boost in the polls. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh took an "all hands to the pump" approach and surfed a wave of public approval when floods hit regional Queensland last summer. 

She cancelled her holidays to supervise. When the floods reached Brisbane, she gave briefings every two hours and told stories about how her mother had been evacuated.

It gave her a 12-point surge in the primary vote, from 26 per cent to 38 per cent, although support has fallen again since.

Ms Yingluck has shone neither in image or substance. When she has donned boots and trudged through floodwaters, it has been seen as little more than a photo opportunity.

Her ministers have been disastrously off-message, contradicting one another. The people's trust in her government's ability to deal with the crisis has seeped away. 

In Bangkok, residents have taken matters into their own hands and dismantled flood barriers to allow the water surrounding their homes to drain away. Others have barricaded their homes and businesses with sandbags and hastily constructed walls.

There is a widespread belief that certain districts have been left flooded to save central Bangkok, and that little thought has been given to the poor and working classes who backed Ms Yingluck.

Supplies are running short in the capital of more than 12 million people, and tempers are fraying. The floodwater are finally receding in some districts, where a huge task of cleaning and reconstruction is now necessary.

Ms Yingluck has asked for the public's understanding, saying Thailand's dams were full when she took office and the country has been battered since by a series of storms. This week she decided she would not go to an Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation meeting in Hawaii.

Thailand's polls, while often inaccurate, have clearly depicted Ms Yingluck's ebbing popularity and the Thai people's ebbing confidence in her as a leader.

Yet Ms Yingluck, elected on Thaksin's coat-tails, still has some backing. Thida Thavornseth, the general-secretary of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship red-shirt movement, says Ms Yingluck has been hobbled by aristocrat civil servants and army officers left over from the previous administration.

"It's a new government, but that doesn't mean the Prime Minister can do anything," she told The Weekend Australian. "Most of the civil servants and military officers are the same; it takes time to change."

The Red Shirts' occupation of central Bangkok last year set the stage for the romping election win of Ms Yingluck's red-aligned Puea Thai party, but since the election there has been a perception red-shirt leaders have been sidelined.

But Ms Thida said Ms Yingluck remained popular with the people. "We cannot say that all the problems are because of Khun (Ms) Yingluck," she said.

Rama II Rd safe for now

Assoc Prof Dr Seri Suparathit of Rangsit University Centre on Climate Change and Disaster, in a daily flood report on Thai PBS noted:

According to a simulated scientific model, there are several factors that can sink Bangkok: Heavy rainfalls, higher sea tide rising about 3 millimeters per year, areas subsiding, dense development, and clogged canals system. All these risk factors would pose great risk for a big flood.

MRT with its existing infrastructure will not survive the next great flood as well.

Another great risk for Bangkok is the safety of tap water. Metropolitan Waterworks Authority must reinforce its protection of Khlong Prapa which feeds raw water from Chao Phraya river to be processed into tap water for 6 million residents on Bangkok side.

Dr Seri then turned to daily flood analysis.

Big Bag still sees protests from affected residents above Big Bag demanding the government open gaps more because they don't see any declining flood level. There is about 50cm difference between those above and below Big Bag.

If more gaps are to open, Khlong Bang Sue must have more pumps installed to cope with more inflow.

At the moment Khlong Bang Sue pumping station is fighting well. Dr Seri was worried about heavy working load working non-stop, but he thought the men in charge should know about pump rotation to rest some for maintenance.

Worst case if all the pumps break down, water will overflow the canal to Victory Monument but the flood level will not be deep about 20-30 cm. So right now, good working pumps are key.

Good news: Chulalongkorn sluice gate, Prem Pachakorn canal continue to see declining water level.

Bad news: Bang Chan Industrial Estate is now surrounded by water as well as Lat Krabang Industrial Estate. Again the strategy is do whatever it takes to help increase waterfowl downwards especially along various canals.

Thonburi side: Water has overflowed railway line and has reached Rama II Road. Upon on site investigation today, Rama II on average is 50 cm higher than surrounding areas. So water has gone under the road through various canals. 

The trouble is clogged canals impeding water flow to Mahachai's royally initiated water retention area which is near the sea.

Rama II Rd is safe for now and it can be navigable for a few more days.

Public buses go the extra mile

Specially adapted BMTA vehicles plough through flooded streets to help those in need

Bangkok passenger buses have made a big difference to flood victims' lives in the past month, as they depart from their usual routes to take flood victims to shelters and in some cases even to their homes.

The special service provided by the state-run Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) at the request of the government's Flood Relief Operations Command (Froc) has continued even as private buses and passenger vans have delayed services while waiting for the floods to subside.

"The government assigns the BMTA to carry people from flooded areas to shelters and serve people in flooded communities which small vehicles cannot reach," said BMTA director Opas Phetmunee. "If the BMTA was not providing the service, the public would be in deep trouble."

He admitted his loss-ridden organisation was risking its own buses, especially their engines, by maintaining transit services on flooded streets.

It is trying to contain the risks by withdrawing airconditioned bus services from deeply flooded areas. In areas under 30-40cm of water or more, it provides only non-airconditioned buses.

The BMTA has specially modified its buses to run in heavily flooded areas.

On streets under 1m of water or more, the BMTA runs buses with platforms elevated by additional springs. Six buses have been are elevated for this purpose.

For areas under even deeper water, the BMTA must also bow out and leave commuters to boats or military vehicles.

The state enterprise is operating about 200 buses on flooded main roads.

Its management reviews the flood situation in Bangkok daily or even hourly to find out where its buses can still run.

The BMTA has shortened 67 of its 108 routes, and introduced 26 special routes to serve flood-affected people.

They include routes to Min Buri, Lat Krabang, Nong Chok, Kaset Navamin, Charan Sanitwong and Arun Amarin. Buses run in flooded areas from 4am to midnight, which are normal service hours for BMTA buses.

However, Mr Opas said groups of passengers who have to travel later than midnight can call the BMTA at its hotline number 184 to seek special services. The BMTA has set aside 100 buses for such missions.

Buses deployed on flooded routes are checked every day. Four buses have broken down in floodwater. Three have been salvaged and the other still rests in Bang Bua Thong district of Nonthaburi.

The BMTA is also helping its bus drivers and attendants hit by the floods.

Staff whose homes have been flooded have been offered temporary shelter at its branch offices. It has also paid overtime to staff who work in flooded areas.

Mr Opas said drivers have found spikes on roads in flooded areas including Watcharapol Road, Or Ngern and Wongsakorn markets and Sai Mai district. 

BMTA buses have run over the spikes, which flatten their tyres. Boat operators who regard the buses as rivals for customers are thought to have laid the spikes.

Thai FM to Apec: We'll bounce back

HONOLULU - Thailand will quickly get back on its feet after the catastrophic floods of the past few months and continue to be a responsible player in regional and global affairs, 

Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul has assured a major regional business conference in Hawaii.

He admitted Thailand had been hard hit by the continuing flooding, in a speech to the Asia-Pacific Business Symposium at the East-West Centre on Thursday (Friday, Bangkok time). The symposium is part of the Apec forum meeting.

"The Thai people have always shown resilience in the face of past adversity; this widespread flood is no exception," said Mr Surapong.

He thanked the country's friends in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) grouping and elsewhere for their prompt assistance for Thailand's endeavors to speedily return the country to normalcy.

Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul

He gave an assurance that the Thai economy, given its fundamental strength, would be back on track soon with renewed dynamism.

The cabinet, he said, had recently approved a relief and recovery plan and package which included immediate relief measures to flood victims, 

Social rehabilitation action, post-crisis loans and incentives, and a long-term plan to develop a comprehensive water resources management system to prevent the recurrence of such devastation.

The government was determined to assist investors, both Thai and foreigners, in flood-hit areas to resume operation as soon as possible, he said.

A budget of approximately US$10 billion had been earmarked for post-flood restoration -- of this, $2 billion was for big business and $5.5 billion for small and medium-sized enterprises as well as small vendors and individuals, Mr Surapong said.

The Thai Chamber of Commerce had also set up a special committee to assess the flood situation and propose mitigation measures for entrepreneurs, he said.

While mobilising all resources to overcome the calamity and to restore international confidence in the Thai economy, the government, which was elected only in July, was determined that Thailand would continue to be a responsible regional and global player, Mr Surapong told the business gathering on the sidelines of the Apec summit here.

Yet, he conceded that the real economic impact from the flooding was the disruption in the supply chain in sectors such as the automobile and computer industries.

On a wider front, natural disasters inevitably affected all economies, he said. Thailand, as a major food producer, was committed to strengthen its capabilities to prevent an economic fallout from natural disasters in the international community, he said.

With the Asean Summit in Bali scheduled next week, Thailand was continuing to work towards the integration of the Asean Community in 2015.

Mr Surapong reaffirmed the strategic location of Thailand for regional connectivity through the economic corridors linking Burma in the west to Vietnam in the east and between the Asean nations to the south and China to the north.

At a separate meeting with his Philippine counterparts, Mr Surapong agreed that the fifth Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation to be held next year in the Philippines would include discussion on disaster management with a wide agenda including trade, investment, energy, education, agriculture and drug controls.

Philippines secretary of state Albert del Rosario and Mr Surapong exchanged condolences regarding the flooding in both countries. Mr del Rosario expressed the hope the salaries of Filipino teachers working in Thailand would be raised to the same as other foreign nationals.

Meanwhile, Thailand and Chile expressed hope that they would be able to finalise next year the free trade agreement negotiations that began last year to celebrate the 50 years of diplomatic relations.

Mr Surapong thanked his counterpart Alfredo Charme for Chile's $25,000 donation to the Thai Red Cross for the flood victims.

Next year the two countries plan a series of activities to commemorate diplomatic relations including painting competitions on a Thai-Chilean theme and film festivals, and look forward to growing two-way trade.

Bilateral trade in 2010 was worth $819 million, an increase of more than 170 per cent on the previous year.

Compo scheme poses new obstacles

Residents battle bureaucracy to claim their 5,000 baht

Mol Plungjamras, 67, waded through waist-deep floodwater then took a taxi to Lat Phrao district office.

She had all the required documents with her - copies of her identity card, household registration record and several photos of her flooded house located behind Wat Lat Plakao, which was declared a flood disaster area.

Her aim was to claim the 5,000 baht in compensation offered by the government to people whose houses were damaged by the flood. The mission turned out to be a hard one.

"It took three hours to complete the claims process. The photos showing my flood-damaged house were in black and white because they were taken with an old mobile phone," Mrs Mol said.

Her grandchild had to take a motorcycle taxi to the nearest photo shop to have them printed out in colour.

She said no one told her the photos must be in colour. A check with the district, however, revealed that black-and-white photographs are allowed to be used to back up claims.

Mrs Mol's house and that of her daughter, who lives nearby, have been flooded for three weeks. Mrs Mol and her husband have been living on the second floor. "The sum of 5,000 baht is not enough to renovate the house, but it is better than nothing."

The cabinet has approved a 3.1- billion-baht budget to compensate people with flood-damaged properties.

The government will hand out a flat rate of 5,000 baht to each household living in a property that has been flooded for at least seven days.

Mayures Simawong, 40, said she had to take a circuitous route to get to the district office.

She and her husband, Yongyos, evacuated from their home in Chokchai 4 to stay at her workplace in the Victory Monument area last week.

"The direct route from Victory Monument to the Lat Phrao district office passes through flooded areas so we decided to go via Rama IX Road to avoid getting wet. It took a long time," she said.

Mr Yongyos said he is not sure whether he will get the compensation within 45 days as promised by the government because there are so many people affected by the flooding.

He said the government must control the price of construction materials after the crisis is over, or the 5,000 baht will be worthless.

Claimant Piyaporn Ngoenwichien, 57, said the compensation should be doubled. She had spent almost 10,000 baht trying to protect her home from the flood by hiring bricklayers to build a wall and paying people to move her motorcycles to Samut Prakan - all to no avail, as her home was still flooded.

Bophit Sengkaew, director of the Lat Phrao District Office, said he realised it is difficult for people affected by the flooding to get to his office. Staff will be sent to affected areas to make it easier for residents to register claims.

The deadline for registration is Nov 22. After that, the authorities will verify claims and decide whether residents are eligible for compensation before sending the details to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Govt apologises to flood victims

Water levels start to drop in Bangkok's inner-north

The government has apologised to people affected by its slow response to the flooding crisis as water levels began to recede in some affected areas.

Highway bail-out begins: Highways Department workers begin salvaging Bangkok-Suphan Buri Highway 340 in Pathum Thani yesterday. The road will be used as a detour to the South in case the Rama II Road, which is the main route to the South from Bangkok, is made impassable by floods.

Justice Minister Pracha Promnok, director of the Flood Relief Operations Command (Froc), yesterday issued the apology in parliament.

He also pledged to drain floodwaters as soon as possible.

The Froc director attributed the flooding to three major storms that directly hit Thailand and brought with them large amounts of rainwater.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra also thanked opposition and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva in parliament for his show of moral support in saying it was not necessary for her to step down in the wake of the disaster, as is being demanded by some.

While efforts to keep central Bangkok dry seemed to have been successful, with a decline of flood water on major roads, the situation elsewhere remains dire, particularly in Thon Buri, where hundreds of residents blocked Rama II road last night in a demand to remove a sandbag dyke responsible for the protracted inundation in their community.

Around 8pm yesterday, about 1,000 residents from Keha Chumchon Thon Buri 2 housing estate and nearby areas blocked inbound Rama II road in front of Bang Khunthian electricity office, demanding the dismantling of a sandbag dyke built by Keha Chumchon Thon Buri 1 housing estate.

The crowd agreed to disperse after police dismantled the dyke, but the two community groups plan to continue negotiations today.

Receding water levels were observed yesterday on Vibhavadi Rangsit, Phahon Yothin and Ratchadapisek roads, which are linked with inner Bangkok.

The flood water dropped by tens of centimetres in some areas, but just 1-2cm in others.

The water level in Khlong Bang Sue, into which the floods on these three main roads is being drained, also decreased by 10cm yesterday.

About 4 million cubic metres of water are being drained into the Chao Phraya River via the canal per day.

Chamnan Kwannate, of the Bang Sue drainage station, said authorities plan to decrease water in Khlong Bang Sue by 10cm a day.

Deputy Bangkok governor Thirachon Manomaipibul attributed the decline to the flood barrier which slowed down the run-off and allowed City Hall to divert water into Khlong Bang Sue and then to the Chao Phraya River.

The water on Vibhavadi Road in Don Muang dropped by 25cm yesterday.

If there is no more run-off, the amount of water on the flooded streets would gradually decline over the next two weeks, said Mr Thirachon.

However, floods levels continued to rise or to affect new areas in the eastern and western parts of Bangkok.

Anond Snidvongs, an academic on the Flood Relief Operation Command's water draining committee, yesterday urged the city not to panic even though about 3-4 billion cu/m of water would flow into the sea through Bangkok.

He said the amount would not make existing water levels much higher and most of the affected areas should return to normal within two weeks.

However, he said the situation on the eastern side, especially Nong Chok and Min Buri, might take four to six weeks to return to normal.

In the east, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) put on high alert 22 communities in Saphan Sung sub-district of Saphan Sung district and more areas in Khlong Kum and Nuan Chan sub-districts of Bung Kum district.

The BMA said it might add Bang Bon and Bung Kum districts to the disaster-hit list which so far covers 32 of Bangkok's 50 districts.

The water in Khlong Saen Saep rose and inundated low-lying canalside areas in Bung Kum and Bang Kapi districts.

Rising floodwaters on Seri Thai Road at Bang Chan intersection continued to threaten Bangchan Industrial estate.

On the western side, Khlong Maha Sawat in Nakhon Pathom overflowed into Khlong Thawi Wattana, further submerging Thon Buri side of Bangkok.

BMA staff were increasing the height of the sandbags along a 7km section of Khlong Maha Sawat.

The run-off yesterday spread in Bang Bon and Bang Khunthian districts and crept towards Rama II Road.

The Highways Department had yet to salvage the inundated Highway 340 and a section of Kanchanaphisek Road.

The operation was set for completion yesterday to provide a detour to the South if Rama II becomes impassable.

Transport Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat said the operation to drain the flood in front of Sombat Buri on Kanchanaphisek Road should be finished by today.

The high tide starting today may hinder water drainage into the sea but should not worsen the situation, the Royal Irrigation Department said. The flood has killed 533 people and affected 1.31 million nationwide.

Flooded Bangkok residents still cut off from aid

Commuters wait to board a truck to take them through flooded area in Bangkok November 10, 2011.

Brownish, stagnant water rises to waist height, lapping at the front of houses and leaving dark stains on the walls. The only way for people to leave is to take a rickety boat to the main road, where more floods await.

It's been two weeks since resident Kanyanee Ounsri and her husband last worked. Floods have forced the 31-year-old and her Cambodian husband, a clothes seller, to stay put deep inside a long and narrow street, south of Bangkok’s old Don Muang airport.

"Even if my husband could go to the market to sell the clothes, it is under water," Kanyanee told AlertNet. Her job as a seamstress is gone too, she said.

"We used to get about 700 baht (about $23) a day between us working," she added, holding her six-month-old son, while her husband looked on silently.

"We are now quite worried because we have been using our savings... after the water is gone and the recovery starts, maybe we would have to borrow some money to get by."

There has been much fretting over whether or not inner Bangkok will remain flood-free, the inundation of seven industrial sites and the massive losses Japanese investors have suffered - some say they are the biggest since the Second World War even taking into account Japan’s recent earthquake and tsunami.

But aid agencies say the authorities should not forget ordinary people like Kanyanee when Thailand recovers from its worst floods in recent memory.

On Thursday, Kanyanee's family and 300 other households in her street received their first relief items since the floods began. They have come from the Red Cross, courtesy of a donation from the European Union.

LIVING WITH STAGNANT WATER

On a normal day it takes less than an hour to drive from Bangkok's business district to Kanyanee's street, but on Thursday the journey required three types of transport - a van, an army truck and a boat - and took more than two hours.

Although some families have evacuated their homes and are sheltering in empty flats nearby, many others have refused to leave, choosing instead to stay on the second floor of their houses.

Locals are getting around in boats, which range from small bamboo rafts to some made out of thick Styrofoam. Others wait at flooded bus stops for transport provided by the military or aid groups.

Reaching all those who are not in evacuation centers is a major challenge, Pichit Siriwan, deputy director of relief and community health bureau for the Thai Red Cross, told AlertNet.

"In some areas access is getting better but in some areas it is getting worse... we have tried our best but there are some areas that are inaccessible," he said. 

Every morning, we send out more than 10 high trucks, some of them carrying a flat bottom boat so in places where the truck cannot go, the boat can."

Save the Children's spokesperson Annie Bodmer-Roy said the charity had to turn back from visiting an area because of fast-rising waters a few days ago.

"It is extremely frustrating because you know people need these hygiene kits, that some people couldn't brush their teeth because they haven't got soap or toothbrush," she said.

For now, having access to clean drinking water is "the most serious problem", Pichit said.

The Red Cross is also concerned about migrant workers, he added. "Some of them don't have any documentations and nobody knows how many there are and where they are. We are trying to locate them," he said.

Aid distribution continues as Thai floodwaters persist for weeks

Children in Thailand are at greater risk of water-borne disease and other hazards as floodwater continue to inundate vast areas of the country, including parts of its capital Bangkok.

The official death toll due to the floods stands at 527, of which more than 60 have been children. Over 11 million people have been affected by the flooding since the end of July.

The murky floodwater provide an ideal breeding ground for insects such as mosquitoes increasing the risk of dengue. Water-borne diseases can bring about severe diarrhoea and leptospirosis, a bacterial infection spread through contaminated water.

It has been critical for flood survivors to have access to clean water, and avoid drinking possibly corrupted tap water or washing their vegetables in floodwater.

Natasha Cheung, World Vision’s Emergency Communicator, says: “The main causes of death are drowning, water-borne diseases and electrocution.

Additional dangers include vector-borne diseases like leptospirosis, a disease spread by rat urine, and injury from floating debris.

“In a city like Bangkok as much as 9,000 tonnes of rubbish is generated each day and has to be disposed of. During floods like this, sewage systems get flooded, so sanitation becomes a really dangerous problem.

Millions of livestock have also perished, so diseases spread by decomposing carcasses are a huge concern.”

The world’s attention has been focused on Bangkok; however central regions to the north of Bangkok have been under water for over two months.

Authorities say it will take at least a month to completely drain out the water from the city. They will also face the challenge of dealing with the accumulated garbage.

World Vision is distributing aid by boat and prioritizing distribution to the most vulnerable and severely impacted in areas yet to receive Government help.

Over 53,000 people have received aid from World Vision, including receiving emergency relief kits containing rice, noodles, tinned fish, cooking oil, fresh water and hygiene products.

Mosquito nets, water filters and toys are also being distributed. Communal kitchens have been set up as have six child-friendly spaces, which cater to the educational, psychological and recreational needs of children.

World Vision has raised some USD 1.2 million, but aims to raise more than USD 2 million for immediate relief and long-term recovery efforts.

Residents clean up as floodwaters recede in west Bangkok

Bangkok residents start cleaning up as floodwater begin to recede.

Thailand's worst flooding in 50 years started to recede in the west of Bangkok today. Waters that previously were waist-high have subsided to just below knee-level in some places.

"Water receded by around 30-40 centimeters. Now cars are able to drive on the road again, especially on Charan Road," said Bangkok resident Tawee Nisaparom.

Charan Road in Bangkok was one of the worst-hit by the floods in the west of the capital.

Bangkok authorities have announced the evacuation of 12 districts mostly in the north, east and west of the city.

As water levels decreased, residents started the task of cleaning up.

"We clean up today but will prepare again next Saturday because of the high tides," said Manasawee Pichit-Atrakul,who is also a resident.

The Royal Thai Navy has issued a warning saying there is a danger of high tides threatening to overflow Chao Phraya River over the weekend.

Bangkok authorities have announced the evacuation of 12 districts mostly in the north, east and west of the city.

Thailand's Prevention and Mitigation said 533 people have been killed since mid of July, with 2.86 million people affected by the worst flooding in five decades.

Is it Time to Move Bangkok

The flooding in Bangkok shows little sign of getting better, and its impact on Thailand’s economy and the global supply chain of many computer and automotive components has yet to be fully tallied.

Japanese companies in particular have made enormous investments in Thailand and have been particularly hard hit by the flooding, but all computer disk drive makers and many car manufacturers have been affected.

People are stranded throughout Bangkok, the government’s messages are still confusing and hard to understand, and the divisions in Thai political society have prevented the type of unity in the political system that should be necessary at such a time of crisis.

In addition, diseases carried by the fetid water are beginning to be a problem in Bangkok and the outlying suburbs. Many foreign investors will now rethink their decisions to place so much of their supply chain in Thailand.

But even more worrying, these floods, which are the worst in Thailand in 50 years, could be a harbinger of the future.

In an excellent story by Agence France Presse, reporters in Bangkok examine why the Thai capital is likely, in years to come, to face similar if not worse floods.

Such floods could repeatedly devastate Thailand’s manufacturing base and threaten the millions of people in the capital, which dominates Thailand as the country’s political, cultural, and economic epicenter.

Urbanization in the city’s outlying areas has reduced regions of vegetation that absorbed water in the past; overbuilding in the city core has done the same.

The capital, built on swamp, is still sinking every year, and with global temperatures rising and weather patterns changing, Thailand is likely to face a longer, more intense rainy season for years to come which would in turn make the city harder to drain and would more consistently overflow the Chao Praya River.

The OECD has classified Thailand’s capital as one of the ten most endangered cities in the world, according to the AFP report. “In 50 years…most of Bangkok will be below sea level,” Anond Snidvongs, an expert on water management, told AFP.

One solution that some Thai environmental experts have begun to suggest: Move the whole capital to land that's higher, more secure from flooding, and easier to protect with dikes.

Some think that, over time, this is the only solution and that  even with continued groundwater pumping, better dikes, and more effective flood management concentrated in one government agency  Bangkok is still too insecure to survive global climate change.

And the Thais have moved their capital before – from the city of Ayuthaya to Bangkok. But that was in 1782.

Prefab shells offer makeshift shelter for flooded Thais

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- In a beehive of once-empty cement forms, a neighborhood in Bangkok's northern reaches has risen from the waters that have inundated much of the rest of the metropolitan area.

In Pathum Thani, dozens of area residents are making home in prefabricated shells intended for use in the construction of Bangkok's elevated sky-way. 

The company that owns the forms has told their new occupants they can stay, and it's letting them tap into electric lines, so there's light and television.

Most of the forms' new residents are from the same flood-ravaged community a short boat ride away. Some floated with their most prized possessions to their temporary homes here. 

Six-year-old Fai says she is content with her dry space. She and her family were flooded out of a shelter and then another home before moving here.

Next door, in the hive of cement shells, live Jaew and her family of five.

"I own a small shop and when it started to flood, I moved all my goods to my house," she said. "Then, a few days later, my house got flooded. And when the water was up to my neck, we moved here."

Jaew took CNN to see her home, which is a short boat ride away -- down a river that was once a walkway. Inside her house, her birds appeared safe and some of her furniture was drying. 

But she had no immediate plans to return. Since the flood, she said, snakes and a crocodile have been spotted nearby.

For most residents of the cement forms, there is no work and no money coming in. Volunteers come from Bangkok University each day to give them food, Jaew said. "And sometimes local officials bring us dry food and water."

Residents said they have chosen to stay in the cement confines rather than move into government shelters because they have more space and can keep an eye on their valuables. 

And, more importantly, because they are with their community. And so, in the chaos that has accompanied the floods, there is the comfort of familiar faces.

Because area schools have been closed for more than a month, children have found themselves with plenty of free time. Some have begun using the rank floodwater as a swimming pool. 

Parents say they are worried about the dirty water, but have given up trying to keep the children out.

Though people said they expect to return home when the waters recede, some said they don't expect that to happen for a few more weeks.

Floods in Thailand have killed more than 500 people since July, affecting about a third of the nation's 77 provinces.

More areas in city's east on alert

Bueng Kum, Bang Bon districts to be added to list of 30 disaster zones

More areas in the east of Bangkok are being monitored for flash floods, especially those located in the Saphan Sung district, Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said yesterday.

Bueng Kum and Bang Bon districts will soon be added to the list of 30 disaster zones in the capital.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) said yesterday that the Maha Sawas Canal in the west of Bangkok was brimming over, which kept floods at a high level in many areas to its south. It was the same with Lat Phrao Canal in central Bangkok and Prem Prachakorn Canal in the north.

Meanwhile, frustrated residents tore down 5 meters of the bigbag barrier near Don Muang police station, causing flood water to leak into Prem Prachakorn Canal.

The level of water along the Saen Saeb Canal, including Lat Phrao Soi 130, 136 and 138, is up to 20 centimetres high, while the Sena Niwet housing estate and bylanes in Soi Chok Chai IV have at least kneehigh floods.

The volume of water heading south toward Bangchan Industrial Estate has risen, but factory owners inside the compound are doing their best to fight it off. However, their efforts are reportedly facing a setback due to budgetary constraints resulting in the lack of petrol to power up the pumps.

The Flood Relief Operations Centre (FROC) has been slow in providing cash to power up the water pumps, though the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand has agreed to fund the operations initially.

Thanes Weerasiri, chief of the Engineering Institute of Thailand, who led the flood prevention operation at the estate, said the flood level had dropped by 9cm after 22 boats were used to propel water into the Saen Saeb Canal.

In addition, the King Mongkut Institute of Technology in Lat Krabang is also fighting off floods, with rector Khomsan Maleesee saying he was confident the campus would be safe thanks to the 1.5metrehigh barrier around it.

The level of flood water has risen in some sections of Rama II Road due to runoffs from the sewage, though it was at a low level and traffic could still go through the road, which links the rest of the country with the South.

In Bangkok, inundation has forced the closure of the Seri Thai Road from Min Buri to the Bangchan estate; Krungthon Bridge to Bang Phlat intersection; and Charan Sanitwong from Rama VII Bridge to Yanhi hospital.

Thailand tries to help companies, as floods spread

BANGKOK

Thailand on Wednesday offered more help to businesses affected by a national flood crisis as the waters spread deeper into Bangkok and risked cutting off a major highway.

The flooding since late July has killed 533 people and caused billions of dollars in damage, closing hundreds of inundated factories north of the capital. 

The water has nearly surrounded Bangkok, flooding a dozen of its outer districts and threatening chaos in the crowded city of more than 9 million people.

The floodwaters are trickling onto the main route south from the city, Rama II Road. If the water gets deeper, it will cut off the last dry highway to Thailand's south and likely swamp so-far unflooded areas of southwestern Bangkok.

The industrial closures have had an effect well beyond Thailand, since the factories supply key components for several industries, particularly the automotive and computer sectors.

Thailand's Board of Investment, which grants tax holidays and other privileges to investment projects, already has taken steps to mitigate flood damage, such as giving tax write-offs for damaged raw materials and easing rules on bringing in foreign nationals to help with recovery.

New measures announced Thursday include allowing companies to temporarily outsource all manufacturing in order to maintain customer deliveries and extending by six months import tax exemptions on replacements for damaged machinery.

Especially hard hit by the flooding have been Japanese companies, led by Honda and Toyota, that were forced to close assembly plants in flooded areas. Some have complained they were not given timely and accurate information that would have allowed them to prepare for flooding.

On top of Thailand's political instability in recent years, the floods have raised the possibility foreign investment projects may relocate elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has tried reaching out to Japanese businesses. Japan's ambassador accompanied Yingluck on an inspection this week in Ayutthaya, just north of Bangkok, where several flooded industrial estates have begun cleanups.

Virabongse Ramangkura, a former finance minister heading a reconstruction and development committee established this week, said he would consult in Tokyo with officials from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on how best to aid the stricken businesses.