Floods encroach deeper into Bangkok, risk subway

A Thai soldier helps a Thai Buddhist monk wade through floodwater at Lod Praow district in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Thailand's record floods encroached deeper into the capital Friday, swamping a major intersection in the northern edge of the city center and threatening the subway system.

Thai residents are transported in a truck through a flooded street in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. Thailand's worst floods in more than half a century continued to creep into Bangkok.

A Thai woman holds her dog as wading through floodwaters at Lod Praow district in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Thailand's record floods encroached deeper into the capital Friday, swamping a major intersection in the northern edge of the city center and threatening the subway system.

People paddle and wade through floodwaters at Lod Praow district in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Thailand's record floods encroached deeper into the capital Friday, swamping a major intersection in the northern edge of the city center and threatening the subway system.

Thai residents carry plastic bags containing groceries with a tree branch as they walk along a flooded area in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Thailand's record floods encroached deeper into the capital Friday, swamping a major intersection in the northern edge of the city center and threatening the subway system.

A boy sit in floodwater next to garbage bins at Salaya district in Bangkok, Thailand Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. Skin diseases and fungal infections are the flood's biggest plague so far with nearly 100,000 cases of athlete's foot reported. Bouts of diarrhea and respiratory infections are also common, especially with many flood victims sheltering together in hot, cramped sites that may not have electricity or clean water.

Cranes walk as deer and antelopes herd together in floodwater in Safari world, an open zoo and theme park in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. More and more businesses are being put in jeopardy as Thailand’s capital city sees more of its areas submerged under water. Open zoo Safari World in Bangkok is one of the affected victims. It has lost around 50 percent of its premise to the flood, which is said to be the worst in the past 50 years of the Thai history.

Vehicles drive along flooded streets at the Lod Praow district in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Thailand's record floods encroached deeper into the capital Friday, swamping a major intersection in the northern edge of the city center and threatening the subway system.

More roads in capital swamped

Floods are worsening in the capital with more areas submerged and more roads becoming impassable to traffic.

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) yesterday ordered the evacuation of Bang Phai sub-district as rapidly rising floodwaters threatened it. Bang Phai is located in Bangkok's Bang Khae district.

BMA listed the Bang Chan sub-district of Bangkok's Klong Sam Wa district as an area to be watched.

Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said yesterday he was worried about the capital's western zone. "The water-drainage system there is not as good as the eastern zone," he admitted.

Flood-hit Bang Khae and Thawee Watthana are among districts in the western zone. Locals there are already struggling hard with floods.

"The floodwater level is now over one-metre deep," said Samart Khemthong, one of the flood victims there.

His village, Sakunthip, is located close by the Thawee Watthana Canal.

He said about 30 out of 350 families were camping out in their heavily flooded village to guard against thieves. "Now, we really need a boat," Samart said.

Sanya Sheenimit, who heads the BMA Department of Drainage and Sewerage, said BMA officials were now working in boats in the flooded western zone. "We have installed more pumps and reinforced flood barriers," he said.

He added that flooding on Bangkok's western side was aggravated partly because the Flood Relief Operation Centre (FROC) would not close the water gates of canals north of the capital in the face of stiff protests from locals.

Sukhumbhand said flooding would become a graver threat in Bangkok's eastern zone now that the government had ordered the watergate of Klong Sam Wa Canal be lifted up by 1 metre.

"More areas in the eastern zone including the Bang Chan Industrial Estate are now at risk of being flooded," he said.

In northern Bangkok, floodwater has already reached the Ratchayothin itersection. Floodwater level on the Chaeng Wattana, Ram-Indra and Phaholyothin roads is also rising. Many motorcycles and small cars have stopped dead amid high floodwater on the roads.

On Chaeng Wattana Road, government officials waded through floodwater to get into the Government Agency Complex in shorts. Upon arrival, they then changed their clothes and donned uniforms.

All food shops at the complex closed yesterday, as vendors clearly were worried about floods.

According to the Traffic Police Division, 24 roads in the capital have been closed to traffic due to severe inundation. They include portions of Phaholyothin Road, Kamphaeng Phet 6 Road, Songprapha Road and a portion of Chaeng Wattana Road.

As floods affect more roads, many are likely to become impassable soon, officials say.

Irrigation dept chief slams governor over accusation

The conflict between the central government and the Bangkok authority heightened yesterday when the governor and the chief of the irrigation department engaged in a war of words during a meeting on flood control.

During the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Irrigation Department directorgeneral Chalit Damrongsak accused Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra of spreading false information through the media that the department refused to provide water pumps to help Bangkok.

"I have checked with the national Flood Relief Operations Center [FROC] and found there was no such request from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration [BMA]," Chalit said.

"The governor should not have said in a television interview that the Irrigation Department had refused to send water pumps to help Pasichareon district. Such remarks damage the reputation of the department," he said.

Sukhumbhand denied that he had made the remarks to the media, but Chalit insisted that he had himself heard the governor make the allegation about his department and demanded that Sukhumbhand retract his words through the media.

Prime Minister Yingluck tried to calm them down, saying the meeting should be a forum for consultation to solve problems.

Sukhumbhand asked BMA permanent secretary Charoenrat Chutikan to explain the situation. Charoenrat said the request for water pumps was made to the FROC and not to the Irrigation Department directly.

Chalit could not be assuaged and asked Prime Minister Yingluck to consider the matter and have a better understanding of the Irrigation Department.

"Prime Minister, please be fair to the department and help explain the situation to the public. We are hurt by such allegations," Chalit said.

Sukhumbhand lost his cool and said immediately, "I don't need to take back my words. When reporters asked whether I had got the pumps, I simply said 'not yet'. It is true. I'm waiting for the pumps."

The Royal Irrigation Department revealed later that after examining official documents from different agencies, it had not found the letter seeking water pumps for Bangkok. However, examination of records with other agencies found a letter dated November 3, 2011, signed by the BMA permanent secretary and addressed to the Interior Ministry permanent secretary, asking for 60 water pumps.

Pheu Thai Party secretarygeneral Jaruphong Ruangsuwan asked both sides to let bygones be bygones, but Sukhumband insisted that he had not insulted the Irrigation Department and was still waiting for the pumps.

Prime Minister Yingluck tried again to cool them down saying all concerned parties should not take the nitpicking seriously.

Justice Minister Pracha Promnok, who heads the FROC, said he would check again whether the BMA had made any request for the pumps. "So far, I have not seen the request in writing but I'll check again where it is," he said.

Tempers cooled down for a while and Prime Minister Yingluck continued the meeting. However, towards the end Science Minister Plodprasob Surassawadi launched another attack on Sukhumbhand, asking why the Bangkok authority did not issue warnings to people in western parts of the capital to prepare for evacuation.

Plodprasob asked why the warning was not issued when the Bangkok authority expected all of the western part could be inundated. Sukhumbhand justified his action, saying he did not want people to panic. Also, he did not believe the entire area would be under water.

"We order evacuation only when 70 per cent of the area is inundated," he said.

Sukhumbhand told reporters after the meeting that the BMA did not have any conflict with the governmentrun FROC, saying the Bangkok authority had opened many sluice gates to release water flow.

The governor said he was still worried about the situation in the western part of Bangkok as the BMA and Irrigation Department's drainage systems are not adequate to drain the water out. The BMA can drain only 10 million cubic metres out of the capital, he said.

Prime Minister Yingluck told reporters after the meeting that the BMA and the FROC were separate, hence the two agencies needed to have more consultation and cooperation.

Every province wanted to release its own water but nobody talked about the huge mass of water. "If we want to talk about Bangkok's problem, we have to talk with surrounding provinces, too," she said. "In the long run, Bangkok has to work with Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani."

The Royal Irrigation Department strongly averred that there was no conflict with other agencies.

Dusit Zoo prepares to move animals to Chon Buri zo

The Dusit Zoo in the heart of Bangkok is preparing an evacuation plan for its animals in the face of looming floods

Flood water has already covered a large part of the capital.

"If the flood water level rises to 50 centimeters, we will move some animals to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo," Dusit Zoo director Kanchai Sanwong said yesterday.

"If it rises to one meter high, we will evacuate tigers, lions, leopards and bears too," he said.

Spanning over 118 rai of land in Dustin district, the zoo is home to about 1,200 animals from 250 species.

"We have already evacuated between 3 and 4 per cent of the animals," Kanchai said.

Among the evacuated animals are two albino barking deer, 14 spotted dear and four common serows.

Kanchai said the zoo had prepared bamboo beds for the animals as dry spots in case flood water seeped in.

He believed the flood water level at the zoo would stay below 50 centimeters. Ponds in the zoo totaled over 30 rai in area and were ready to take in more water, he said.

The zoo has two weeks' worth of animal feed in stock.

"Should the flooding be prolonged, we can seek help from our allies such as the Khao Kheow Open Zoo," Kanchai said.

Khao Kheow Zoo is located in Chon Buri.

Dusit Zoo is still open to visitors between 8am and 6pm. The number of visitors, however, has dropped to around 400 a day, or one tenth of its usual level.

"We used to get many visitors during school breaks, but not during the current break," Kanchai said.

In Bangkok's Klong Sam Wa district, the vast Safari World has closed to the public as flood water has spread through most of its zones.

"We are now trying to protect the Marine Park zone," Safari World executive Amnat Kewkacha said, referring to sandbag walls being erected in the zone.

SET puts off roadshows

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is revising its business continuity plan due to the flood crisis and is awaiting the government's flood-prevention plan before going on roadshows abroad to restore investor confidence.

SET President Charamporn Jotikasthira said that for continuity, the exchange is revising all its plans to deal with the crisis. It has also postponed its planned roadshows due to the country's worst floods.

"SET has to postpone the planned roadshows for the rest of this year as we need clearer information, especially the government's flood-prevention plan for the next few years. We are waiting to see how long it takes for flood-hit manufacturers to stage a recovery. If they can make a quick recovery, confidence can be restored swiftly. Once all information is in hand, the authorities will organise roadshows to provide relevant information to foreign investors," Charamporn said.

After the flood waters recede, the SET plans to organise roadshows in world financial centers like Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Tokyo and New York. Other new targets include Australia, Milan in Italy and Scotland.

Irrespective of how the domestic economy would perform or the impact of the natural disaster on the earnings of listed companies, the SET needs to convey all relevant information consistently, Charamporn said.

Chanin Vongkusolkit, chairman of the Thai Listed Companies Association and chief executive officer of Banpu, said that listed companies should include floods and natural disasters in their plan for business continuity, to mitigate risks.

The association will revise its training course to prepare executives of listed companies for disasters and minimize losses, he said.

In a crisis, Banpu has its IT system in Jakarta, he said. The company also has a backup centre in Lampang where its employees can be relocated if all areas of Bangkok are flooded.

Newspapers get slimmer as delivery becomes tough

The flood crisis in Bangkok is forcing newspapers to cut down their editions due to transportation problems and giving no choice but to move their vehicles to higher ground.

Some media organisations are also providing shelter for employees whose homes are submerged, while others are providing food and cash in aid.

The Nation is now publishing a slimmer edition and a free PDF version of the paper is provided at www.nationmultimedia.com for subscribers who have not been getting their paper delivered.

The Bangkok Post has also announced that it will be publishing a slimmer edition for another week.

The Thailanguage Naew Na daily, which is based on Vibhavadi Road, has suspended its printed version from Wednesday to Sunday, though the newspaper can be read on www.naewna.com.

Daily News newspaper and the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS), which are also on Vibhavadi Road, have moved all their vehicles to higher ground.

Patthanazin Pakdeeponlachai, a producer with TPBS, said the TV station was doing its best to continue broadcasting as normal.

"The floods have affected many shows because some of our guests have not been able to make it. Sometimes we have had to cancel shows altogether and we can no longer give people a lift on our vans or offroad vehicles," he explained.

With the TPBS entrance blocked by 70centimetres of water, the TV station is moving people from Mo Chit BTS terminal using forklifts. The military has also sent trucks to help.

"Staff members who do not necessarily have to work at the office have been told to stay home from Wednesday to Friday [yesterday]," he said.

He added that if worse comes to the worst, the station would use the studios in Chulalongkorn University and transmit the shows via its outside broadcasting unit.

Daily News, meanwhile, may have reduced its pages and editions, but it is ensuring that every subscriber gets a printed copy every day, a senior editorial staff member, who asked not to be named, said. The source added that the paper's management had contacted other printing houses just in case its own printing house is submerged.

An executive from Matichon, who asked not to be named, said the newspaper has reduced its edition to 12 pages, and is looking for backup printing facilities. The newspaper's offices are located in Bangkok's Chatuchak district.

Meanwhile, the source at Daily News said the company had been using its delivery trucks to give lifts to employees until it became impossible.

"About 200 members of the staff and their families have moved into the office and are provided with four meals every day. If you visit, you will see an active atmosphere day and night. It has become our home, and everybody is doing their best," the source said.

In addition to providing shelter at its headquarters on Bang NaTrat, the Nation News Network is also providing Bt10,000 in assistance to staff members whose homes are flooded. Matichon is also providing shelter to its evacuees and is planning to give Bt5,000 to each employee who is flood victim.

Bangchan estate seeks more pumps

Management of the Bangchan Industrial Estate has asked for two additional pumps, while the estate in Lat Krabang is strengthening and raising its flood barriers.

Bangchan will use the pumps to drain water into three key canals because the nearby Bueng Krathiam pond is close to brimming over and could flood 300 factories in the estate's Phase III section.

Meanwhile, Lat Krabang Industrial Estate seemed to be at great risk of being submerged yesterday, after the nearby Saen Saeb Canal spilled over and submerged a major road that doubles as a barrier. The estate's management ordered an urgent clearing of the canal to ensure the pumping of 6 million cubic metres of water daily.

The estate officials said that to avoid total inundation, up to 20 million cubic metres of water needs to be drained every day, especially at Gate 8, 9 and 10 of the lower Hok Wa Canal.

Owners of the 231 factories in Lat Krabang estate met with the management team yesterday and decided to hold an evacuation drill so they are prepared if floods rise higher than 3 metres from the mean sea level, a senior official of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand said.

Flood impact on Bangkok office market remains limited

Yet, the government is yet to announce clearer water management plan, or long-term impacts will be felt.

While almost 30 major office buildings in the Vibhavadi-Rangsit and Phaholyothin areas have been hit by floods and the whole impact on Bangkok office market has yet to unfold, observations from Jones Lang LaSalle show the Bangkok office market has seen limited impact so far.

"Most of the office buildings in the city are located in downtown areas which have remained dry. In addition, a typical office lease term of three years does not provide flexibility for tenants in office buildings located in the flood area to move out before their lease expires. However, as the floods continue to spread, it may be too early to tell how the Bangkok office market will be affected by the flooding," said Suphin Mechuchep, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle.

In this stage, some companies become less keen to make leasing decisions as they are waiting to see if or how their business operations would be impacted by the widespread floods.

"We expect this to be only temporary and leasing activity should recover once the floods recede," she said.

The widespread flooding in the northern corridor of Bangkok has generated demand for temporary substitute offices in the inner areas of the city which are at lower risk of flooding as the operations of some companies located in the flood areas have been disrupted.

"We have received an increasing number of enquiries from companies for temporary offices in the inner locations of Bangkok. These companies are those whose offices are currently located in the areas that are affected by floods or that are at risk of floods. These enquiries require fully or partly fitted office units, sized between 50 and 300 sqm, that are available for an immediate occupation for a period of 1-2 months," added Yupa Sathienpabayut, Director of Office Agency at Jones Lang LaSalle.

She noted that temporary offices charge 20 per cent higher than rental rates offered on a long lease term.

The agency also witnessed calls from seen some big corporations for temporary offices in locations outside Bangkok such as Pattaya, Sri Racha and Laem Chabang as part of their business continuity plans.

Suphin noted that in the longer term, the flooding could send some impacts on the Bangkok office market. Many companies that operate in industrial estates affected by the floods have corporate offices in Bangkok. More companies may opt to set up a separate corporate office in Bangkok to diversify operational risks, she said.

"On the adverse side, the Bank of Thailand has recently lowered its forecast for the country's GDP growth in 2011 from 4.1 percent to 2.6 percent. Demand in almost every real estate sector will inevitably be impacted as it depends very much upon the country's overall economic condition. To minimise the degree of the flood impact, the government must come up with a sound recovery plan to restore confidence," she concluded.

Floods encroach deeper into Bangkok, risk subway

A Thai soldier helps a Thai Buddhist monk wade through floodwaters at Lod Praow district in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Thailand's record floods encroached deeper into the capital Friday, swamping a major intersection in the northern edge of the city center and threatening the subway system.

Thailand's record floods encroached deeper into the capital Friday, swamping a major intersection in the northern edge of the city center and threatening the subway system.

The water from the country's worst flooding in more than half a century was filling Bangkok's Lad Phrao intersection, where three major roads meet. Office towers, condominiums and a popular shopping mall are in the area, where local media say the water is 15 inches (40 centimeters) deep. The intersection is just down the street from the famed Chatuchak Weekend Market, a key tourist attraction.

Three stations in Bangkok's subway system are being closely monitored but are still open. Steel barriers have been put around the underground stations in recent weeks to protect against possible inundation.

The flooding, which started in the country's north in late July and has killed almost 450 people nationwide, has been spreading across Bangkok's north and west for more than a week.

The government has asked residents in eight of the city's 50 districts to evacuate. Residents in several other districts have been warned that they should be ready to leave.

The water has yet to reach the city's central business district.

Victims vent their anger on Thai PM

Makeshift transport residents sit on a large piece of polystyrene foam during flooding in Bangkok.

BANGKOK: Frustrated flood victims berated Thailand's Prime Minister yesterday during her visit to inundated areas of Bangkok, one-fifth of which is now under water.

Thai authorities have advised more than 1 million people to evacuate but many have chosen to stay despite risks including electrocution, disease and lack of food and drinking water, complicating relief efforts.

Yingluck Shinawatra, facing the first test of her leadership, visited victims in the Don Mueang district in northern Bangkok, where an elderly man told her: ''You're here just for fun, not really to help, so don't come back.

A woman walks with her dog, in a floating box, across floodwater in a street next to the Chao Praya river in Bangkok.

Ms Yingluck asked residents living outside the city's flood barriers not to damage levees to save their own homes.

''Destroying levees along canals doesn't reduce the floodwaters but causes water to spread,'' she said.

Bangkok officials are struggling to maintain a system of dykes, canals and sandbag barriers designed to divert a slow- moving mass of floodwater around the city centre. Floods that spread over 63 of Thailand's 77 provinces over the past three months have killed 437 people.

While the centre of the capital remains dry, some northern and western parts have been submerged in dirty water.

The authorities have issued an evacuation order for eight districts out of 50 in the capital and for certain areas in four others.

The 12 districts have a combined official population of 1.7 million people.

Worst-hit residents have complained that their homes are being sacrificed to save shopping malls, luxury hotels and the houses of the wealthy elite, triggering protests and the destruction of some dykes.

Waterlogged Thailand will struggle to prevent future floods

An elderly woman clears debris from the front door of her flooded residence in Bangkok November 2, 2011

As waterlogged Thailand struggles to contain the worst floods in decades, it faces a simple truth: not a whole lot can be done to avoid a repeat disaster in the short term even with a new multi-billion dollar water-management policy.

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City dwellers and farmers displaced since the floods began in July, killing 427 people, and foreign investors waiting to pump out factories could face the same thing when the rainy season rolls around again in the middle of next year.

But there are short-term steps to reduce the risk, including better cooperation between agencies with over-lapping responsibilities and an improvement in the management of dams that feed water down into the central flood plain.

At times since the crisis began unfolding, rivalry between different arms of government exacerbated by divided political loyalties has appeared to derail efforts to stop the deadliest flooding in half a century.

"A main weakness in the system is coordination and that can be improved if people set aside their egos. It has to be non-partisan," said Chaiyuth Sukhsri, head of faculty at the Water Resources Engineering Department at Chulalongkorn University.

"In the short term, we can eliminate a third of the problem but the rest is long term. Improving the infrastructure will take years."

The floods have knocked back Thailand's expected growth this year by a couple of percentage points and wiped out a quarter of the main rice crop in the world's biggest rice exporter, putting pressure on global prices.

The disaster has also forced up global prices of computer hard drives and disrupted global auto production after the flooding of industrial estates in the central provinces of Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok.

A 400 billion baht ($13 billion) budget deficit has been targeted for this fiscal year from October 1, up from 350 billion baht previously, to help with the recovery.

Looking beyond this disaster and the still unknown cost of destruction, foreign investors would like to see more streamlined crisis management, said Nandor von der Luehe, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce.

"Maybe the government should look at one agency. There were too many people responsible for different areas, like too many cooks in the kitchen," he said.

"That would be a big step."

"EVERYTHING BUILT ON FLOOD PLAIN"

The role that dams played in the disaster is being debated but some experts say authorities in charge of the dams scattered over uplands in the north were too slow to release water.

When they had to, to stop dams bursting, unusually heavy monsoon rain was falling and the rivers were full.

"Bangkok has grown so much and everything is built on the flood plain. In the short term, not much can be done besides good management," said development economist Sawai Boonma, who has been studying Thailand's flood problem for decades.

"They have try to release the water gradually as it builds up in the dams. This time they waited until the dams were over-capacity. That's why the volume of water was so huge."

The priority of the authorities managing dams is irrigation and they were perhaps understandably reluctant to let a lot of water out early after a drought last year, said Chaiyuth.

In the longer term, Sawai said flood spill-ways, one kilometer (half a mile) wide should be created both to the east and west of Bangkok, with even a smaller one through the city.

People should also think about getting out of the flood plain, where the annual deluge brings such bounty in the fields, said Sawai. He envisages satellite towns built on higher ground linked to Bangkok by high-speed train.

A newer industrial zone southeast of Bangkok, which has no major river basin, has escaped the flooding.

"Not only have they put the industrial estates in the danger area, they've built over the best rice fields. It's lose-lose," Sawai said.

A newer industrial zone southeast of Bangkok, which has no major river basin, has escaped the flooding.

Climate change with its expected rise in sea levels and more storms only make a re-think more critical, he says.

Von der Luehe said Thailand was still good for business, despite the floods and the danger of more, because of factors such as location and infrastructure.

"Obviously, investors should consider locations. Not everything has been flooded," he said. "Overall, when we look at the neighboring countries, Thailand is still a strong destination. We are in a good position here."

Bangkok expected to escape worst of flooding

BANGKOK, Thailand - An aerial photo shows a flooded residential area in northern Bangkok, Thailand.

Thailand's prime minister said Monday that she hopes the process of draining floodwater through Bangkok can be sped up now that peak high tides that saw the city's main waterway rise to record levels have passed.

Higher than normal tides pushing up the Chao Phraya River from the Gulf of Thailand in recent days have complicated efforts to drain the floodwater that has been surging through the city as it makes its way from provinces that have been submerged and suffering for up to two months.

The runoff from the country's worst flooding in more than a half-century has put extreme pressure on the pumps, sandbags and dikes protecting Bangkok, though they have largely held and most of the capital remained dry.

Video: Thailand urges evacuations as flooding worsens

Heavy flooding gushes into Bangkok's riverfront

Threatening floodwaters close in on Thai capital

"If there is no more additional water, the current runoff might not cause heavy flooding in Bangkok," Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said, though she noted there was still a massive amount of water that needs to pass through the capital's complex 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 had been bracing for possible 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 the Bangkok's 50 districts have now seen flooding, and people in six districts have been told to evacuate.

"The water that came in our neighborhood was massive and had immense power," said 29-year-old Yibporn Ratanawit, who lives in Thonburi on the Chao Phraya's western bank. "As we were stepping out of our gate to evacuate, one of our walls totally collapsed to the neighbor's side and the water rushed into their house. It was like a nightmare."

"I think the Thonburi side will all be gone eventually because the water has not stopped rising," she said.

While much of the government's attention in recent days has been focused on protecting Bangkok, Thailand's political and economic heart, there have been growing complaints that those in areas north of the capital, some of whom have been underwater for weeks or months, have been forgotten.

Yingluck sought to address those concerns Monday with a post on her Facebook page.

"The government is concerned about every individual who has experienced flooding, as well as those facing a lengthy period of floods," she said. "The government has emphasized with the provincial governors to exhaustively take care of the people."

The floods, which began in late July and were exacerbated by heavier than usual monsoon rains and a string of tropical storms, have killed 381 people and affected more than a third of the country's provinces. The water has destroyed millions of acres of crops and forced thousands of factories to close.

Heavy flooding gushes into Bangkok's riverfront

Thai residents ride on a truck through floodwaters as they evacuate their neighborhood next to the Chao Praya river in Bangkok

BANGKOK - The main river coursing through Thailand's capital swelled to record highs Friday, briefly flooding riverside buildings and an ornate royal complex at high tide amid fears that flood defenses could break and swamp the heart of the city.

Ankle-high water from the Chao Phraya river spilled through one sandbagged entrance way of Bangkok's treasured Grand Palace, which once housed the kingdom's monarchy. The army was pumping out the water, and tourists were still entering the white-walled compound.

The river has filled roads outside the palace gates for days, but the water has receded with the tides, leaving streets dry again.

But the higher-than-normal tides in the Gulf of Thailand, expected to peak Saturday, are obstructing the flood runoff from the north, and there are fears the overflows could swamp parts of downtown. The government also is worried major barriers and dikes could break.

The flood walls protecting much of the inner city are 8.2 feet high, and Saturday's high tide is expected to reach 8.5 feet.

Friday's morning high tide passed without a major breach, but the waters briefly touched riverside areas closer to the city's central business districts of Silom and Sathorn.

"It is clear that although the high tides haven't reached 2.5 meters (8.2 feet), it was high enough to prolong the suffering of those living outside of the flood walls and to threaten those living behind deteriorating walls," Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said.

Seven of Bangkok's 50 districts — all in the northern outskirts — are heavily flooded, and residents have fled aboard bamboo rafts and army trucks and by wading in waist-deep water. Eight other districts have seen less serious flooding.

New flooding was reported Friday in the city's southeast when a canal overflowed in a neighborhood on the outer parts of Sukhumvit Road.

The floods, the heaviest in Thailand in more than half a century, have drenched a third of the country's provinces, killed close to 400 people and displaced more than 110,000 others. The water has crept from the central plains south toward the Gulf of Thailand, but Bangkok is in the way. The capital is literally surrounded by behemoth pools of water flowing around and through the city via a complex network of canals and rivers.

Economic analysts say the floods have cut Thailand's 2011 GDP projections by as much as 2 percentage points. Damage estimates of $6 billion could double if floods swamp Bangkok.

Most of Bangkok, however, has remained dry and most of its more than 9 million residents were staying put to protect their homes. Still, fears the inner city could flood have fueled an exodus as Thais and expatriates alike seek refuge outside Bangkok and foreign governments urge their citizens to avoid unessential travel to the threatened city.

The U.S. State Department cautioned against all but essential travel to areas of Thailand affected by the flooding, including Bangkok, because of transportation difficulties and shortages of certain food items.

On Thursday, an emotional Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra acknowledged her government could not control the deluge.

"What we're doing today is resisting the force of nature," Yingluck told reporters. She said the water bearing down on Bangkok was so massive that "we cannot resist all of it."

Flooding has closed Bangkok's Don Muang airport, mainly used for domestic flights, but Thailand's main international airport is operating as usual.

The government's Flood Relief Operations Center says its contingency plan involves the Thai military and government agencies transporting people from evacuation points in the capital to outlying provinces.

Floods reach deeper into Bangkok, threaten subway

A Thai policeman directs traffic along a flooded street at the Lod Praow district in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 4, 2011. Thailand's record floods encroached deeper into the capital Friday, swamping a major intersection in the northern edge of the city center and threatening the subway system.

BANGKOK - Thailand's record floods encroached deeper into the capital Friday, swamping a major intersection in the northern edge of the city center and threatening the subway system.

The water from the country's worst flooding in more than half a century was filling Bangkok's Lad Phrao intersection, where three major roads meet. Office towers, condominiums and a popular shopping mall are in the area, where local media say the water is 15 inches (40 centimeters) deep. The intersection is just down the street from the famed Chatuchak Weekend Market, a key tourist attraction.

Three stations in Bangkok's subway system are being closely monitored but are still open. Steel barriers have been put around the underground stations in recent weeks to protect against possible inundation.

The flooding, which started in the country's north in late July and has killed almost 450 people nationwide, has been spreading across Bangkok's north and west for more than a week.

The government has asked residents in eight of the city's 50 districts to evacuate. Residents in several other districts have been warned that they should be ready to leave.

The water has yet to reach the city's central business district.

As Floods Drag on in Thailand, Displaced Grow Restless

A man rows his passenger on a boat past the shadow of the flooded Chatkaew Chongkolnee temple in Bangkok, Thailand, November 1, 2011.

In Thailand, local aid groups are calling on authorities to better manage and support local communities that are struggling to cope after spending weeks under a meter or more of water.

As the flood waters overtake more communities in urban areas of the country, there are many who are deciding to stay home and protect their belongings from thieves.

Srisuwan Kuanachorn from the Foundation for Ecological Recovery (FER) says many people are resisting even forced evacuations, braving the increasingly stagnant and polluted flood waters to stay near home. He says the government needs to reach out to these people to help disperse aid and help the stranded.

The relief effort is being undertaken without sufficient involvement of the victims of the affected communities. We believe that, although not all but many of those affected communities do have the capacity to help themselves. They would need some external support, but many of them have demonstrated a certain capacity in the province of trying to tackle this flood situation,” Srisuwan Kuanachorn said.

Two thirds of Thailand's provinces have been hit by floods, but central Thailand has been a key venue for many evacuated flood victims.

Parita Promlert, president of the Red Cross Society in Lop Buri province, which is 150 kilometers north of Bangkok and now one of the hardest hit regions, says up to 30,000 people are in evacuation centers in the province.

Parita says the crowded conditions are raising health concerns, especially among the physically vulnerable. Thailand’s wet monsoon season is now ending with the weather changing to the cooler dry season of the northern winter.

“Many people in one place. So there are concerns about children and the elderly. Because they evacuate from Bangkok and Pathum Thani because they have children, so many family, almost everybody have children. But the people still want to go to their house. Many people of Lop Buri want to stay near their homes so they stay on the road. But the people from Pathum Thani and Bangkok they live in the camp," Promlert said.

In Bangkok, Father Joe Maier, a Catholic priest from the slum community of Klong Toey near the main port, says older children in evacuation centers are eager to return home, despite the continuing floods. “The people are getting more and more restless and they want to go home no matter what. Then, especially in areas where the thieves are, where’s there theft, yeah, we’re going to have real problems and I don‘t think anybody is prepared for this,” he said.

While the government says the flood conditions around Bangkok may ease over the next week, other analysts say it will be weeks before the floods fully recede.

Tensions Mount in Thai Capital as Floodwaters Devastate Suburbs

Tempers flared Monday along a barrier protecting the Thai capital from record flooding, with angry residents outside the flood wall overpowering security forces to force open a floodgate that left their homes under water.

The confrontation in the city's northeastern sector came as Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra voiced renewed focus on repairing ruptures in the barriers that are allowing water to seep into central Bangkok -- home to hundreds of cultural landmarks, including the Grand Palace and a host of tourist attractions.

"Today Bangkok residents might feel that the water level hasn't gone down because in some canals the broken barriers haven't been fixed, so the water comes in. So we've seeded up the repair at several spots. Last night we asked the private sector to help out so there are a few spots we're rushing to fix. Once the problem is solved we can be less worried," Yingluck said.

As Yingluck spoke of saving the central city, desperate residents near the, Klong Sam Wa, floodgate used hammers and pickaxes to break through an earthen dike around the floodgate to release rising water. Television footage showed residents pushing aside police trying to stop them.

The master plan to save Bangkok's inner city continues to spawn widespread resentment in residential areas outside the flood barriers, where tens of thousands of residents have been left to fend for themselves as water courses through residential streets and destroys homes and belongings.

One resident, Ar-pa Ketpradit, of a district north of Bangkok said that in his neighborhood, the water still seems to be rising. "The water level has not receded, it keeps rising, not receding. It will rise in the morning from 9 to 10 am, it will rise and will not recede,'' he said.

He said he does not know when it will recede.

Months of flooding across central Thailand have sent massive amounts of water southward toward the capital -- its last obstacle on the way to the sea. The flood peak in Bangkok has coincided with unusually high tides which have acted to push floodwater back up the Chao Phraya River.

Tens of thousands of residents in the metropolitan area of 12 million residents have fled the area in recent days on bamboo rafts, vans, army trucks or on foot, heading for higher ground in the south. Many have flown out of the city.

The flooding that began in July, the country's worst in 50 years, has already claimed more than 380 lives. The material losses are yet to be determined.

Yingluck Banks on $26 Billion Plan After Flood ‘Stumble’

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra plans to win back confidence in her 12-week-old government with a reconstruction package after Bangkok residents blamed her for an inadequate response to the country’s worst floods since 1942.

“The floods may be a blessing in disguise for the government to wake up and do the things it needs to do to improve this country,” Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan, who has proposed spending as much as 800 billion baht ($26 billion) on recovery efforts, said in a phone interview. “It’s just like a kid who starts walking and a strong wind blows. You might stumble, but then you need to get up and start walking again.”

Mixed messages over the severity of the flooding, which fueled panic in Bangkok, threaten to erode Yingluck’s popularity and energize opponents whose protests led to the demise of her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, five years ago. To regain the trust of voters who have seen floods swamp their homes and shutter factories employing more than 600,000 workers she will have to rebuild damaged roads, bridges, homes and factories.

“This is really hers to win or lose,” said Michael Montesano, visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies in Singapore. “If she does a good job with the recovery, a lot of the fumbling recently will be forgiven, at least with everyone except her diehard opponents.”

Inadequate Relief

Three-quarters of the respondents in an Oct. 30 Assumption University poll of Bangkokians said the administration’s relief efforts were inadequate. A poll by the same organization conducted Oct. 1-15 in 19 provinces rated the army and volunteers ahead of the government in dealing with the floods.

The central bank, which last week slashed its 2011 economic growth forecast to 2.6 percent from 4.1 percent, expects expansion to slow as the global economy weakens and the flooding impact increases, according to minutes of its Oct. 19 meeting. Government spending in response to the floods may prompt policy makers to hold the key interest rate at 3.5 percent, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economist Mark Tan wrote in a note yesterday. Thailand’s SET Index has gained 10 percent in the past month, mirroring regional benchmarks.

More than a meter of water has inundated parts of northern, eastern and western Bangkok as the government aims to divert floods around the city center. Yingluck has said the floodwater may take a month to drain from the capital.

‘Everything’s Flooded’

I don’t believe in my government anymore,” said Supalak Antonna, 29, as she stood on the foot of a six-lane bridge near Bangkok’s Grand Palace waiting for a boat to ferry her through chest-deep waters that have turned parts of the city into a trash-filled lake. “Many times they would say it’s okay, don’t worry, and two or three days later everything’s flooded. Yingluck, Thaksin’s youngest sister, became Thailand’s first female leader on Aug. 9 after her Pheu Thai party won 265 seats in the 500-member Parliament, the fifth straight time a party linked to the former leader has come first in an election since 2001.

Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup and has lived overseas since fleeing a jail sentence for abuse of power. His allies won elections in 2007, and ruled for a year before a court disbanded the party for corruption amid protests by opponents who seized government buildings and the nation’s main international airport.

In the 26 provinces still affected by flooding, Yingluck’s party won about 70 percent of constituency seats in the July vote. The Democrats, who were ousted in the July election, control 23 of 33 seats in Bangkok, where Thaksin’s party won 32 of 37 seats in 2005.

‘Clearly Underestimated’

“The situation was clearly underestimated by the government,” former Prime Minister and Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said in an Oct. 31 interview while helping flood victims in Bangkok. “There wasn’t sufficient warning.”

On Oct. 5, after floodwater broke through a levee at Saha Rattana Nakorn Industrial Estate in Ayutthaya province 78 kilometers (48 miles) north of Bangkok, Yingluck went ahead with a scheduled trip to Myanmar as part of a tour of Southeast Asian capitals.

Two days later, with the deluge threatening two more industrial estates where Honda Motor Co. and Nikon Corp. have factories, she set up a flood crisis command and evacuation center at Don Mueang airport in northern Bangkok and canceled trips to Malaysia and Singapore.

‘50-50 Chance’

Yingluck said on Oct. 13 inner Bangkok would be protected by floodwalls. She reversed course two weeks later, declaring a five-day public holiday and warning of a “50-50” chance downtown areas would see as much as 1.5 meters of water in low- lying areas. Bewildered residents began hoarding bottled water and vacating the city.

Her Cabinet members also fueled uncertainty. On Oct. 13, Science Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi warned residents in northern Bangkok to evacuate immediately, only to have colleagues retract the order a few hours later. The next day, Justice Minister Pracha Promnog, who heads the flood relief command, said he would “guarantee that Bangkok won’t be affected.”

“We are not ignorant or indecisive,” Yingluck told reporters on Nov. 1. “I want to ask for sympathy from the media and the public because there are many problems. When we fix one, it doesn’t mean all problems will be solved.”

The Democrat party, which controls Bangkok’s city hall, has clashed with Yingluck on when and where to open floodgates and issue evacuation warnings. Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra told the public on Oct. 13 to heed only his warnings.

‘New Thailand’

“You’ve got a government that so far has not shown competence in handling the situation, nor transparency,” former Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said Oct. 31. “To start immediately talking, even before you’ve taken care of the people, of spending almost a trillion baht smacks of opportunism.”

The government’s so-called “New Thailand” project to revive the economy and build new water management infrastructure may cost as much as 800 billion baht, Pichai said Oct. 31.

“The government wouldn’t get it in a short time or be able to execute it that fast” because of strict rules on budget spending, Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul told reporters in Bangkok late yesterday.

Yingluck will head the committee overseeing the effort, Pichai said, without providing details on how the money will be spent.

“Nobody’s going to block the budget for flood relief,” said Sanit Nakajitti, a director at PSA Asia, a Bangkok-based risk consulting company. “People are going to be smiling when they get that money.”

With assistance from Supunnabul Suwannakij and Anuchit Nguyen in Bangkok. Editors: Tony Jordan, Peter Hirschberg