RESIDENTS IN THREE more neighbourhoods in the Thai capital Bangkok are being urged to evacuate their homes as the floodwaters are expected to rise further.
Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said that despite water pumps being operated around the clock, the water level in three areas in the south-west of the city continues to rise.
The city’s central districts have been largely unaffected by the flooding. Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said earlier that if the flooding does spread to the city centre, it would be ‘light’.
Here are the latest photos from the flooded parts of Bangkok:
An evacuation order was issued for two of the city’s 50 districts in late October as the government advised people to use a five-day holiday at the end of the month to make their way out of the city to drier ground. Some residents who left the city weeks ago returned to check the damage to their properties this weekend.
Archaeological experts fear that the flooding may have damaged hundreds of Thai monasteries, temples and other historical monuments.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has posted a warning advising against non-essential travel to Bangkok and warns that travel services in some parts of the country have been severely disrupted.
The British Foreign Office is also advising “against all but essential travel” to the more than 20 Thai provinces worst affected by the flooding, including Bangkok.
Over 530 people have died in Thailand since the monsoon season flooding began in mid-July.
- Additional reporting by the AP
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