Floods continue to soak Bangkok
  • 12 years ago
Thai residents in Bangkok's western suburbs move their belongings to higher ground.
The flooded Ratchavithi road is a primary route in and out of the water logged Bangplad district, on the western side of the Chao Phraya river.
North of the capital, similar scenes.
Residents returned home thinking the waters had receded and were surprised to find out... they hadn't.
(SOUNDBITE) (Thai) RESIDENT, PAIRAT PIN-NGERN, SAYING:
"The water was stable and seemed to decrease around the 20th, so we came back. But today it rises dramatically. This time, we're almost too late to leave, as the water is one meter high in our house. This is unexpected level because this place is on a high ground."
Now into its fourth month, more than 400 people have perished due to flood related incidents.
The country's economy has suffered immeasurably... manufacturing, tourism and farming are some of the hardest hit sectors.
---or----
The full extent of the damage is not yet known... with industrial sectors, tourism and food crops sustaining the biggest impact.
As residents use makeshift rafts to navigate the flooded roadways, they wade past sculptured hedges in the shape of people riding in Thai longboats.
An ironic symbol of their current plight.
Julie Noce, Reuters