A boat vendor waits for customers in a flooded area of Bangkok, 7 November 2011. Reuters

By PAILIN WEDEL, Associated Press; Associated Press writers Vee Intarakratug, Todd Pitman, and Chris Blake contributed to this report.
7 November 2011 BANGKOK (AP) – Floodwaters from Thailand’s flood-ravaged central heartland pushed farther into Bangkok on Monday, as residents of long-submerged provinces north of the capital started to rebuild their lives. The water slowly advancing through Bangkok’s northern and western neighborhoods is threatening the city’s subway system, two key industrial estates and the emergency headquarters set up to deal with the flooding that has claimed more than 500 lives nationwide. Evacuations have been ordered in 12 of Bangkok’s 50 districts, with residents of the northern district of Klong Sam Wa told to leave Monday. The evacuations, which also effect parts of several other districts, are not mandatory, and many people are staying to protect homes and businesses. But the orders illustrate how far flooding has progressed into the city and how powerless the government has been to stop it. The flooding began in late July and some provinces to the north of Bangkok have been inundated for more than a month. The waters have started to recede in recent days, revealing the massive cleanup effort that lies ahead.

A car swept away by floodwaters is seen at the entrance of the ancient Wat Mahathat temple in the world heritage historical park, Ayutthaya province, Thailand, 07 November 2011. The worst floods in decades claimed over 500 lives and more than 2.5 million people have been affected forcing thousands of residents to evacuate their homes while some 15,000 industrial, manufacturing plants and tourist site have been damaged. RUNGROJ YONGRIT / EPA

For two months, Anan Dirath was forced to live on the second floor of his home in Nakorn Sawan province. But now that the water has receded to knee level, it’s time to clean up. He armed his two teenage children with mops, scrub brushes and garbage bags. Wading in the water, his family began scrubbing dirt off the walls and collecting the garbage around the house. He said the dirt was difficult to wash off and he has had to scrub the paint off to get rid of it. “Oh my pretty home. It used to be a pretty two-story home,” he said Monday. […] Floodwaters in Bangkok continued to flow south Monday toward the still-unaffected central business district. In Chatuchak, a few miles (kilometers) north of there, water was nearly knee deep around Mo Chit Skytrain station, the northernmost stop on the capital’s elevated train system. Water was also rising near three subway stops in the same area. Both mass transit networks are functioning normally, though some exits have been barricaded and closed. […]

Floods threaten Bangkok as north starts to rebuild Thai residents wade through floodwaters on a street near a pile of garbage in Bangkok, Thailand, 07 November 2011. Bangkok will need to clean up 3 to 4 million tons of garbage once floods covering about 60 per cent of the capital subside while city garbage trucks have not been able to get into some flooded areas, media reports said. NARONG SANGNAK / EPA

Bangkok, November 7 (Prensa Latina) – Nearly four million tons of garbage float in the contaminated waters of Bangkok, devastated by the worst floods of the last 50 years, which have killed around 506 people. For over two weeks, garbage trucks have not had access to different districts of the capital, where the population is at risk of suffering epidemics. Every day nearly 200 new cases of diarrhea, fungus infections and other diseases, caused by contaminated water, spread in centers that shelter over 100,000 evacuated people, a note of the Ministry of Health underlined. Floods have affected over two million Thais, while more than 200,000 people are still evacuated in 25 provinces and in Bangkok. The disaster began in July when rivers and swamps in the northern and central regions of Thailand overflowed due to heavy rains caused by a monsoon and three tropical storm in a row.

Water Contamination and Garbage Overwhelm Thai Capital