Thai floods claim more factories but Bangkok safe
by VIPARAT JANTRAPRAP AND KOCHAKORN BOONLAI | BANGKOK,
THAILAND - Oct 16 2011
Floods in Thailand engulfed another industrial estate on Sunday but the
capital, Bangkok, appears for now to have escaped the devastation seen
elsewhere in the country despite heavy monsoon rain and water streaming
towards it from the north.
Flooding has killed 297 people since late July and caused $3-billion in
damage. A third of the country is under water but officials are confident
low-lying Bangkok will be spared after the strengthening of its system of
defensive dikes and canals.
"We're dredging canals in both western and eastern zones which should be
completed in no more than a week. The irrigation department has provided an
update on the water situation which has reassured us," Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra told reporters.
Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Nakhon Sawan provinces north of Bangkok have
been devastated. Floods have swallowed up homes and forced a series of huge
industrial parks to close, including the Bang Pa-In estate in Ayutthaya on
Saturday.
Another estate, Factory Land in Ayutthaya, Thailand, which has 93 factories
employing 8 500 employees, flooded in the early hours of October 16, 2011.
Most of the factories make electronic components and car parts so this will
add to the problems of the international firms that use Thailand as a
regional production hub.
"The water broke in at around midnight. Operators there were aware of it and
evacuated people from the estate ... Up to now, five industrial estates have
been flooded," said Prayoon Tingthong, in charge of industrial affairs for
the province.
Japanese car maker Honda Motor Co. Ltd has shut its Ayutthaya plant which
accounts for 4.7% of its global output and said on Friday it would stay
closed until October 21.
The authorities are worried about another industrial park, Nava Nakorn in
Pathum Thani province north of Bangkok, which is standing in the way of the
flow of water towards the capital.
Thai media said soldiers and workers from the estate, Thailand's oldest with
more than 200 factories, were working around the clock to strengthen its
walls and divert water.
However, on Sunday the Bangkok
Post website quoted an
irrigation official as saying a crucial sluice-gate had been repaired so the
estate was now safe.
High river levels
The north, north east and centre of Thailand have been worst hit by the
flooding and Bangkok -- much of it only two metres above sea level -- is at
risk as water overflows from reservoirs in the north, swelling the Chao
Phraya River that winds through the densely populated city.
That danger was compounded at the weekend by high estuary tides that hamper
the flow of water into the sea.
The river was reported to be at a record high level of 2.15m at one point on
Saturday but the embankment wall running along it in inner Bangkok is at
least 2.5m high and has been raised along vulnerable stretches.
"The government's operations are proceeding well ... As for the current
water level, it is satisfactory and it's quite certain that water will not
flood Bangkok," said Police General Pongsapat Pongcharoen, a spokesperson at
a government crisis centre set up at the city's old Don Muang Airport.
Even so, Bangkokians have stocked up on bottled water, instant noodles, rice
and canned goods. Many have parked their cars in elevated garages and piled
sandbags in front of shop-houses and homes.
The economy is bound to suffer from the flooding.
Both the central bank and government have put the cost at about $3.2-billion
already, more than 1% of gross domestic product (GDP).
The Finance Ministry has cut its GDP growth forecast for this year to 3.7%
from 4%.
The central bank said on Friday that 104 bank branches had closed because of
flooding, mainly in the central region. Deputy Prime Minister Kittirat Na
Ranong has called bankers to a meeting at the Don Muang crisis centre on
Monday.
A committee of government, union and employer representatives is due to
decide on Monday on a government plan for a big increase in the minimum wage
but Thai media said employers appealed on Sunday for the decision to be put
off for six months because of the damage caused by the floods. -- Reuters
Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://mg.co.za/article/2011-10-16-thai-floods-claim-more-factories-but-bangkok-safe