Bangkok Floods: 'We'll Recover Soon' Says Thailand's Prime Minister
Floods Stabilize In East Bangkok, Industrial Parks Remain Dry
Barricades surrounding two major industrial parks continue to hold as flood waters are stabilized in east Bangkok amid the worst flooding the country has seen in 50 years.
The Bang Chan and Lat Krabang industrial states remain dry as officials stabilize a decreasing amount of flood water flowing from the north.
"What we're seeing now is that the water level has become more stable. So, even though we can't say 100 percent, risks are clearly going down," Seri Supharatid, director of Rangsit University's Center on Climate Change and Disaster, told Reuters.
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The floods have caused increased tension between the public and the government since the deluge began in late July. The public contests the government's decision to protect industrial machinery instead of residential communities as encroaching water flooded various areas of Thailand's metropolitan capital was to blame for the damage.
"Right now the government has overlooked people's difficulties. They view it as something less significant than seeking a loan of more than 800-billion-baht to build up a new Thailand even though half of the country is still under water," Democrat spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut told Pattaya Today in late October, when the government refused to open the Sam Wa canal to protect the Bang Chan industrial park.
Serious flooding still impacts east and west Bangkok, but Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra predicts some infrastructure could be repaired within 45-90 days.
"We'll recover soon," Shinawatra said in a news conference Wednesday.
However, the western side of the capital continues to suffer flooding that could last into the New Year.
Thailand relies on industrial production as a major source of income – supplying countries with products of hard hitters such as Apple, Toyota and Honda, as well as various factories producing plastics, fertilizers and furniture.
The Honda Company announced in late October that it would temporarily cut production at its six plants in Canada and the U.S. due to the flood waters.
On Monday, Honda Motor Co. resumed production of some power products. The Honda car production plant in Rojana Park, however, remains closed.
Similarly, Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Corp. and Lenovo Thailand Limited have all had their supply chains disrupted due to the flooding.
In light of decreasing flood levels, some industrial companies have been resuming business. Japan's Nissan Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. were re-opened in the past week with limited production.
The northern monsoon, which is expected during this time of year, has worked its way down Thailand over the past several months, beginning in the northern communities of Chiang Mai and Pai, and was now affecting Bangkok.
The flooding is the worst the country has seen in decades, and 564 people have died as a result of the floods. The rains will eventually decrease as the system makes its way into the ocean south of Bangkok.
