Photo: Byron Perrry
As communities across Thailand continue to struggle with rising flood waters, concerns are being raised in Bangkok that industrial areas in the central region and capital could be affected.
Widespread rain has resulted in flash floods in 18 provinces in the east, north, northeast and central regions, while water burst canals and river banks in three other provinces, according to Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention Control.
About 1.5 million people from 420,000 households have been affected, and nine people were reported dead.
As flood water reached Ayutthaya province, about 50 miles north of Bangkok, the Thai government rushed to reassure business operators and Thai residents that the situation was still under control and that it won’t be a repeat the massive flood in 2011.
“The flooding situation this year will not be as severe as in 2011,” said Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after the Cabinet meeting Tuesday. She added that the rain level is less than in 2011 and that agencies are working to slow down water from the north while accelerating water discharge from the central plains.
Yingluck said she is confident that the floods will not reach Bangkok, but expressed concern over an industrial estate in Ayutthya province that doesn’t have a proper flood wall, the Wall Street Journal reported.
