Thailand hit with worst monsoon floods in decades – ‘It’s the worst flooding yet’
By Jutarat Skulpichetrat, additional reporting by Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh; Editing by Alan Raybould
4 October 2011 BANGKOK (Reuters) – At least 224 people have died in flooding in Thailand since mid-July and water has inundated the 400-year-old Chai Wattanaram temple in the ancient city of Ayutthaya, a World Heritage Site, officials said Tuesday. The temple is by the Chao Phraya river, which flows down to the capital, Bangkok, around 105 km (65 miles) to the south. “The water level is now up to 1.5 meters and 150 soldiers are deployed in the area to fix the embankment,” said Wittaya Pewpong, governor of Ayutthaya province. He said more than 200 of the 500 ancient temples in the province had been affected by floods. Thailand has been hit by massive flooding caused by a tropical storm followed by seasonal monsoon rains, which usually fall from August to October. […] Flooding has also affected Bangkok, which sits only two meters above sea level. The Chao Phraya river has overflowed into roads in some areas, although the authorities have reinforced its banks to prevent serious flooding. […] Nearly 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of farmland was under water and the Meteorological Department has warned of more heavy rain in many parts of the country over the next few days. […]
Thai floods kill 224, inundate World Heritage Site 
BANGKOK, October 4 (AFP) – Thailand’s worst monsoon floods in decades have killed 224 people and affected three quarters of the country, including part of the ancient city of Ayutthaya, officials said Tuesday. Authorities were meanwhile battling to stop the floods reaching the centre of low-lying Bangkok, as forecasters warned of more wild weather to come. “It’s the worst flooding yet in terms of the amount of water and people affected,” said an official at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation who preferred not to be named. Two months of flooding have inundated 58 of 77 provinces — with 25 still severely affected — and damaged the homes or livelihoods of millions of people, according to the government. Wat Chaiwatthanaram, one of Ayutthaya’s best-known temples, has been closed to visitors after a makeshift dyke was breached at the former capital, a popular tourist destination north of Bangkok. “The water level inside the temple grounds is now 1.50 metres (five feet),” said Supoj Prommanoch, head of the Fine Arts Office in Ayutthaya. […] “The current flood situation is the worst that I have ever seen and it will last until the first week of November,” said independent flood expert Royal Chitradon, director of Thai Integrated Water Resource Management. “There is a problem of prolonged flooding in central provinces because roads and cities have blocked natural waterways.” Royal said several reservoirs are already full and the western and eastern outskirts of Bangkok are at risk of flooding because of another approaching tropical storm. […] In total about 14.8 million acres (six million hectares) of land have been inundated around the country, said chief government spokeswoman Titima Chaisang.
