Bangkok Floods Latest: Business Districts Restored, Western Areas to Suffer Into 2012
As Bangkok recovers from the floods that threatened the entire city and killed more than 562 people in Thailand, the nation’s prime minister said the flooding in western areas is likely to extend into the next year.
Prime Minister Yungluck Shiwatra told the people that she hopes they will be able to “celebrate the New Year with happiness,” but expressed fears that water drainage is going slow in some Bangkok areas, and residents will not be able to clean up their homes and neighborhoods for some time to come, according to Reuters.
The Armed Forces and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have worked to clear and repair clogged waterways and dykes across the Chao Phraya River.
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Officials are hopeful that most of the city’s regions will be dry soon, but the problems in the western neighborhoods continue to deepen, as 21 districts were given a full or partial evacuation order. Millions of people are struggling to deal with the flooding.
Fears were raised over the possibility that dead animal carcasses would bring diseases and spark a deadly outbreak throughout the city, but so far, such a situation has been avoided.
Despite the continued fears for citizens in low-lying areas, Shiwatra spoke with investors on Wednesday at a United Nations conference, assuring them that the city and the country will soon recover and businesses will resume as normal. She promised that the water management system would be redesigned in efforts to better contain problems such as widespread flooding in the future.
The prime minister also revealed plans to have most of the infrastructure rebuilt within the next two to three months, and that Bangkok’s industrial estates, including a number of major car manufacturers, will be able to resume business before the end of the year.
Evidence for the normalization of life in most of the city was apparent in central Bangkok, where outdoor restaurants and markets were filled with people this week, and office areas were thriving with life again.
