Bangkok works frantically to shore up defences against floods

The Guardian (UK) via Associated Press: Soldiers and residents have been racing to pile sandbags as floodwaters headed towards Bangkok from several sides on Tuesday.

Much of the efforts in recent days have been aimed at shoring up defences along the city's northern perimeter, facing the brunt of runoff from inland areas where Thailand's worst flooding in half a century has killed 315 people. Officials have added concerns about a new front: a flood plain near Suvarnabhumi airport.

Droves of civilians joined soldiers to build dykes after Bangkok's governor delivered a late-night TV warning that the city had until Wednesday to lay down 1m sandbags to protect an especially vulnerable 3.7-mile stretch....

A photo of Bangkok, Thailand in the 1850s, showing canals in the foreground and the Golden Mount Temple at the back