The center of Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, looks like it will escape the flooding that has hit some suburbs and provinces to its north, but evacuation orders are still issued each day in outer districts and many residents face weeks of hardship. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said Monday 562 people had died in the flooding since late July and that 22 of Thailand’s 77 provinces were still affected. Flooding is receding in parts of Bangkok but remains high on the west bank of the Chao Phraya river, swollen by high tides in the Gulf of Thailand, and to the east of the capital, where authorities have diverted run-off floodwater from the north to try to protect the heart of densely populated Bangkok. Kawin Prachanukul, a 21-year-old student at Bangkok’s Thammasat University, decided to stay with his dog in his home in Nong Kham district in the west of Bangkok, when it flooded in early November. “My food supplies are starting to run out. Now I’ve just got some packs of instant noodles left. But it’s not too bad for me — at least I’m able to walk through the knee-deep water in my street to the main road, where there are a few food vendors,” he said, adding that only a few men remained in his neighborhood.
Excerpt from:
Thai floods recede in places
