Thailand's Flood Disaster
Thailand has been affected by the worst flooding in half a century. Surging waters have impacted 27 out of the country’s 77 provinces and claimed the lives of approximately 350 residents.
The flooding, which made its way to the north of the capital Bangkok early last week, shows no signs of abating.
The governor of Bangkok on Monday warned residents of the city to brace for floodwaters from neighboring suburban areas.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra warns that it could take up to six weeks for the water to recede. Faced with water levels as high as three meters, more than 110,000 residents have been forced to evacuate to shelters.
Factories of approximately 700 multinational corporations have been submerged under water or left idle due to a shortage of parts. The government told CNBC it has budgeted almost 100 billion baht ($3.2 billion) for the reconstruction.
Click ahead to see pictures from Thailand's floods.
By Ansuya Harjani
Posted on 24 October 2011
Residents Stock Up on Supplies
Thai residents stocked up on supplies walking down the flooded streets in Bangyai on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Residents hoarded supplies, particularly bottled water, batteries and canned food leaving many supermarket shelves empty.
Airport Turns Into Evacuation Center
Flood victims watched TV at the Don Muang airport in northern Bangkok, which was turned into an evacuation center.
The natural disaster has taken a significant toll on the country's lucrative tourism sector. According to The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), new bookings have fallen by up to 70 percent compared to usual levels for the month of October.
Motorists Struggle to Escape Rising Water
Cars were jammed on a bridge over a flooded highway junction as massive volumes of water submerged lower Pathum Thani, a suburb just north of Bangkok.
Toxic chemicals were found in the province's floodwater, according to the government's flood relief center.
Residents Pile Up Sandbags
Bangkok's governor ordered about 1.2 million sandbags to be placed along canals branching from the Chao Phraya River which runs through the capital city, and flows into the Gulf of Thailand.
The heavy rains caused the river to rise to its highest level in seven years, triggering worries that the country's political and economic center would be inundated.
Flooded Homes
Residents walked in knee-high water along the canals north of Bangkok.
Thai authorities opened some canals last week to allow water to flow to the Gulf of Thailand and prevent a worsening of the floods. But overflowing canals have forced more than a thousand people to evacuate from their homes in the northern districts of Don Muang and Lak Si.
Residents Left Homeless
A Thai man bathes on the street after becoming homeless when his home in Pathum Thani was flooded.
More than 110,000 people have been left homeless since the start of the monsoon season in late July.
Getting On With Life
A vendor sells vegetables from a boat in floodwater in Bang Bua Thong on the outskirts of Bangkok.
The floods have left 3.4 million acres of cropland underwater, according to Reuters. It has also damaged around 10 percent of the country's rice farms, according to data from the Department of Disaster Prevention and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
Thailand is the world's biggest rice exporter and the United Nations says floods in Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia and Laos could cause "serious food shortages" in parts of Southeast Asia.