Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s government said Bangkok will be spared from floods that have killed almost 300 people and devastated central and northern provinces as water levels receded and defenses around the capital held.
“The water level is now manageable and Bangkok will definitely not be flooded,” Pongsapat Pongcharoen, a national flood-center spokesman, said today in a televised briefing.
Authorities have spent the past week reinforcing flood barriers around Bangkok and residents began hoarding water, rice and instant noodles on concern floodwaters that destroyed homes and crippled manufacturing hubs in parts of central Thailand would overwhelm the capital.
“The government is aware of the plight of the people and is making every effort to solve this disaster,” Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said today in Nonthaburi province outside Bangkok, where she oversaw an effort to use the force of 1,149 motorboats to accelerate the flow of the Chao Phraya, Bang Pa- kong and Tha Cheen rivers.
The three-month-long disaster has killed 297 people and affected 8.8 million more across 61 of Thailand’s 77 provinces. Floodwaters are still affecting 26 provinces, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said today on its website.
Suvarnabhumi Airport, the nation’s biggest, is operating normally, and services including ferries, hotels and Bangkok’s elevated rail system are unaffected, Sean Boonpracong, a flood center spokesman, said today in an e-mailed statement.
Floodwaters Recede
The volume of water flowing from areas north of Bangkok has stabilized as dams reduced the amount being released, Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut said. Floodwaters have receded in Singburi, Ang-Thong and Ayutthaya province, and water levels in the Chao Phraya river that runs through the capital are still below the flood barrier, Theera said.
Ayutthaya was the hardest-hit province, with floodwaters last week swamping industrial estates that house factories operated by Hana Microelectronics Pcl, the country’s biggest semiconductor packager, and Japanese manufacturers including Honda Motor Co., Nikon Corp. and Pioneer Corp. Honda will keep its two Thai plants closed until at least Oct. 21, the company said last week.
A total of 930 factories nationwide have been damaged in the disaster, according to the Ministry of Industry.
Flood Cost
The cost of the floods may rise to as much as 120 billion baht ($3.9 billion), and force the central bank to cut its forecast for economic growth this year, Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said Oct. 14.
The Nava Nakorn Industrial Promotion Zone isn’t flooded, though the situation remains “worrisome,” Industry Minister Wannarat Charnnukul said after visiting the facility in Pathum Thani province today. Some of the 227 factories at the estate have already halted operations, he said.
Yingluck said yesterday the situation remains “critical” in 10 of the 26 provinces still affected. Her two-month-old administration is balancing needs to protect Bangkok from inundation while evacuating people and delivering aid to areas outside the capital’s flood barriers.
The government’s flood relief fund has received cash donations totaling 64 million baht, said Pongsapat, the flood- center spokesman.
A U.S. C-130 transport plane arrived yesterday carrying more than 10,000 sandbags and 10 Marines as part of a humanitarian survey team, the flood center’s Boonpracong said. The U.S. will also send helicopters to help search and rescue efforts, he said.
‘Conflicts’
Some residents in flood-affected areas outside Bangkok have clashed with officials trying to bolster water barriers, and have criticized the government for protecting the capital at the expense of areas outside the city.
“Although there have been some conflicts between residents in flooded and dry areas, these conflicts have been settled,” Boonpracong said, without giving details.
In Ayutthaya, new evacuation shelters were opened and authorities are using boats to patrol flooded areas to prevent looting, he said.
Flood waters passed through Ayutthaya yesterday at volumes that were lower than expected, Wim Roongwatanachinda, the director general of the Department of Irrigation, said in the statement. That water will pass through Bangkok over the next couple of days, he said.
--With assistance from Suttinee Yuvejwattana and Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok. Editor: Tony Jordan, Jim McDonald
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