Thailand’s energy minister said the flood crisis in Bangkok is likely to drag on for another month, as authorities issued another evacuation advisory in a northern neighborhood and floodwaters inched further into the city’s heart.
Thai Minister of Energy Pichai Naripthaphan said, however, that floods may finally begin to subside in the capital by the middle of this month, a government statement said late on Monday. Yesterday, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra announced she would not be attending the upcoming APEC summit in the US due to the floods.
Top officials and experts have given varying estimates of how much Bangkok would flood and how long the threat would loom over the city, with some claiming several weeks ago the biggest window of danger to the metropolis of 9 million people had already passed.
Instead, the flood threat has only intensified, straining sandbag-stacking residents as more and more neighborhoods are swamped each day. The seemingly unstoppable floodwaters have overwhelmed canals, seeped up through drains and poured down condominium-lined highways. The water has now begun surrounding the city’s northernmost subway stops.
Evacuations have been ordered in 12 of Bangkok’s 50 districts, with residents of the northern district of Khlong Sam Wa told to leave on Monday. The evacuations, which also affect parts of several other districts, are not mandatory, and many people are staying to protect homes and businesses.
Some provinces to the north of Bangkok have been inundated for more than a month and waters have started to recede in recent days as massive pools of runoff flow south.
In Nakorn Sawan Province, Anan Dirath was forced to live on the second floor of his home for two months. However, now that the water has receded to knee level, he has begun to clean up.
In nearby Nakorn Sawan town center, where the water has dried completely, the government sponsored a cleanup day last week when roads were scrubbed down to get rid of the oily mud left from the floods. Backhoes were used to carry garbage away.
The cleanup also has begun in some parts of the ancient capital of Ayutthaya. Yingluck planned to visit the province later yesterday to witness recovery efforts.
The prime minister, facing the first crisis of her fledgling leadership, had been planning to brief leaders at the APEC summit about the crisis and boost investor confidence in the country.
However, Yingluck said she would send Thai Deputy Prime Minister Kittirat Na-Ranong, who is also the commerce minister, on her behalf.
The APEC meeting on Saturday and Sunday would have been the first international summit for Yingluck, a political novice who only came to power three months ago.
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