Bangkok faces inundation up to a metre high, be prepared: PM
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told Bangkok residents yesterday to prepare for imminent flooding as inundation spread to the capital, and warned that it could take up to six weeks for Thailand's catastrophic flood waters to recede.
Speaking during her weekly radio address, the prime minister said: "We have to wait for another four to six weeks for the flooding situation to ease." She explained later to reporters that she was referring to the entire country, and not just Bangkok.
Yingluck warned people in parts of Bangkok to expect floods as water from northern provinces was reaching the capital.
She said Bangkok residents should move their belongings to higher ground or to other safe locations over the weekend.
"During this long weekend, residents should move belongings, cars and other valuable things to places at least one metre high," she said in her weekly address to the nation.
Yingluck Shinawatra called the flooding a "national crisis" and called on citizens to unite and help each other. One third of the country's provinces are at least partly under water.
A high-stakes effort is under way to drain billions of cubic metres of water from upcountry out to the sea through rivers and canals in and around the city. Floods are already waist-high in the northern outskirts of the capital.
"Bangkok must open all floodgates to allow the water through," said Yingluck, who has invoked a disaster law to take full control of the emergency response.
More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the northern Bangkok districts of Don Muang and Lak Si, where the water was up to 70 centimetres deep, making roads impassable for small cars.
"It's an extremely serious situation that affects people's lives and property," said Yingluck, whose two-month-old government is racing to avert a humanitarian disaster.
Three months of heavy monsoon rains had killed at least 356 people around the country and damaged the homes and livelihood of 9 million people, mostly in the North and Central provinces, officials said.
About 113,000 people have been forced to seek refuge in shelters, Yingluck said, adding that while the waters were receding in some areas of the country, the floods heading towards the capital were unstoppable.
"There is a huge volume of run-off water from the North and we can't effectively block it but can only slow the flow because our barriers are temporary," she warned.
The centre of Bangkok was still dry yesterday and sunny blue skies belied the sense of nervous dread in the city of 12 million people.
Supermarkets were busy with people stocking up on food and bottled water, while many motorists have moved their cars to the upper levels of multi-storey car parks or left them on bridges and elevated roads.
Tens of thousands of soldiers and police have been mobilised to maintain order, but the military warned people who refuse to leave their inundated homes not to rely on troops to bring them essential items.
Yingluck said the authorities would secure important locations such as the palaces, government buildings, major utilities and key transport routes.
"The government will oversee the distribution of all consumer goods and ensure that they are sufficient and available for everyone. Bangkok residents must be prepared to cope with the situation because there is a lot of water, but don't panic and don't stockpile goods," she said.
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