Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Bangkok floods could go into next year

Terra Daily via AFP: Parts of Bangkok could still be flooded next year, Thailand's prime minister said on Tuesday, despite waters receding significantly in some areas of the city after weeks of inundation. Thailand's worst floods in half a century, caused by months of unusually heavy monsoon rains, have left at least 562 people dead and damaged millions of homes and livelihoods around the country.

In an effort to spare Bangkok's economic and political heartland, authorities have been trying to drain the floods through waterways in the east and west of the sprawling capital of 12 million people, and out to sea.

But while Bangkok's centre has remained dry, it could be a number of weeks before the entire capital is free from the floodwaters, according to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra...She said that eastern areas were likely to be dry before the new year...

Flooded bridge on west side of Prapa canal, just outside Bangkok border, October 31, 2011. (Voice of America)

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