Thailand: Floods cause hundreds of factories to close, hospitals evacuate

Nearly 200 factories in central Thailand province were closed; hospitals in northern Bangkok must evacuate hundreds of patients; Prime Minister Yingluck had to postpone his trip to Malaysia and Singapore. This is all due to the flood threatening the capital of Bangkok.

>>>More than 200 people died from floods in Thailand

So far, the capital city of Bangkok has temporarily avoided heavy flooding, while the surrounding areas such as the ancient city of Ayutthaya with famous temples located about 80 km away from Bangkok, are severely flooded.

Yesterday, Thai emergency workers evacuated more than 300 patients from a hospital in the north of Bangkok, while flooding caused by weeks of flooding forced hundreds of factories around to shut down and make The capital is at risk of suffering the most severe flood since decades.

The boat evacuation in Ayutthaya city with ancient temples began on Saturday afternoon after the sand bags did not prevent flooding and the hospital was flooded with 2.2 meters of water.

Ayutthaya people in the ancient city ran flood

Television shows local residents taking cats and dogs and their own belongings on boats to find places to avoid flooding.

198 factories, including Japan's Honda Motor Co Ltd motorcycle assembly plant, in Ayutthaya were closed due to floods.

'All 198 factories located in the Rojana area of ​​Ayutthaya province have to be closed due to water up to 5.1 meters,' said Agriculture Minister Wannarat Channukul.

People from other areas around the capital were also evacuated yesterday.

However, Bangkok capital authorities are worried that the city will inevitably suffer from the flooding due to the massive amount of water coming from the north in the coming days, as many storms are about to enter the area.

In the short term, the government is trying to protect the capital, sand bags, erecting walls along the canals and the Chao Praya River flowing through Bangkok.

According to the Thai government, yesterday, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra postponed the trip to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, scheduled for October 11 and October 12, at the time of the flooding in Thailand and threatened Bangkok.

Yesterday, authorities said at least 261 people have been killed since floods began to pour into the region since the end of July; More than 2 million people in 30 provinces affected by the floods and weather forecasts said there will be more rain this week.

On the risk ranking, the Organization for Cooperation and Development (OCDE) has ranked Bangkok among the most vulnerable cities from now until 2070.

As for the current flood, Thailand Chamber of Commerce estimates losses of between 0.8% and 1% of GDP.