Thai PM warns deadly floods to last for weeks

Thailand’s prime minister warned yesterday that the kingdom could endure six more weeks of flooding, telling anxious Bangkok residents to be ready for water up to a metre deep in the capital.

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the northern Bangkok districts of Don Mueang and Lak Si

A high-stakes effort is under way to drain billions of cubic metres of water from upcountry out to sea through rivers and canals in and around the city, where floods were already waist-high in the northern outskirts.

“Bangkok must open all floodgates to allow the water through,” said Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who has invoked a disaster law to take full control of the emergency response.

“So during this long weekend residents should move belongings, cars and other valuable things to places at least one metre high,” she said in her televised weekly address to the nation.

“It’s an extremely serious situation that affects people’s lives and property,” added Yingluck, whose two-month-old government is racing to avert a humanitarian disaster.

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the northern Bangkok districts of Don Mueang and Lak Si, where the water was up to 70 centimetres deep, making roads impassable for small cars.

There was also minor flooding near the parliament district after the water level of the Chao Phraya River rose, prompting the city authorities to advise 3,000 people living alongside its banks to consider moving to shelters.

“Water in the river is extremely high,” said Bangkok Metropolitan Administration spokesman Jate Sopitpongsthorn.

Three months of heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 356 people in Thailand and damaged the homes and livelihoods of nine million people, mostly in the north and centre, the government 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 overall flood situation would continue for “four to six weeks”, she added.