Bangkok Flood Latest News: Residents Become Refugees
Families impacted by the devastating floods that have hit Bangkok are becoming refugees in their own water-inundated city.
Barriers have been put in place to block floodwaters from entering into Thailand’s capital, but water continues to rise in parts of the city. Residents have raised concerns regarding certain water protection measures, such as sandbags and dikes – which are blocking water from entering the heart of Bangkok, but also does not allow it to leave other parts of the city.
Residents of Bangkok’s outlying areas say that they will be forced to spend weeks in temporary shelter, as the catastrophe shows no sign of resolution.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Inhabitants in flooded areas, some of which have been flooded for over a month, have expressed frustration with their government. Residents claim that they are being “sacrificed” to keep the wealthier parts of Bangkok dry.
Some people in Bangkok’s outskirts have gone so far as to sabotage dikes in order to relieve their neighborhoods of water, edging more water into Bangkok’s more southern districts.
The death toll from the devastating Thailand floods has risen to 527 people and on Monday water levels rose in the eastern part of the city.
Thus far, 30 of the capital’s 50 districts have faced flooding conditions.
Some areas in the north of the city have seen receded waters, but other areas maintain chest-deep floodwater that is rife with filth.
The cost of the flooding is already estimated to be billions of dollars but the health impacts of the floods have yet to be seen. Relief agencies have warned that the health consequences of the flooding may result in widespread concerns due to waterborne diseases such as diarrhea and malaria.
Thailand’s record breaking flooding came as a result of two typhoons and unusually heavy monsoon rains that persisted for three months. Thailand is no stranger to flooding, however, this years flooding is the worst seen in a decade.
The government has said that the floods currently affect 25 of the country’s 77 provinces. According to a recently released Thailand Disaster and Mitigation Department report, the floods have impacted over 2.9 million people across the country.
Disaster response agencies are arguing that the Thai government has been moving slow and is poorly coordinated, hampering efforts to curb the flood damage in terms of both infrastructure and health.
