AYUTTHAYA, Thailand—Concern grew among Thai authorities about their abilities to spare Bangkok from flooding as runoff from the north and central plains on Tuesday appeared like an inland sea less than 55 miles north of the capital.
There, in Thailand’s ancient capital of Ayutthaya, some neighborhoods have been flooded for two months with people living in makeshift shelters along roads that pass near their homes on higher ground.
Parts of the rural areas of Ayutthaya province look like lakes with scattered islands of partially submerged homes and buildings as those waters flow south toward Bangkok. Thai authorities were staging a fighting retreat on Wednesday against floodwaters that threaten Bangkok, after the country’s oldest factory park was completely inundated and a nearby one faced imminent threat.
Hundreds of soldiers and volunteers had taken part in the effort to save the Nava Nakorn industrial estate after its defenses were first breached over the weekend, but surrender came on Tuesday with an evacuation of all workers. By nightfall, the entire property—which is home to hundreds of factories and tens of thousands of workers—was covered by water more than a yard (meter) deep in places.
Defenders were making a new stand on Wednesday morning at the nearby Bang Kradee industrial estate, also in Pathum Thani province, just north of Bangkok. The state broadcaster MCOT reported that local authorities in the neighborhood had shot flares to warn residents—who don’t benefit from the defenses set up for the industrial estate—to evacuate the area.
Ayutthaya has seen the worst flooding, but it is not alone. The Labour Welfare and Protection Department on Tuesday said floods have inundated more than 14,000 factories in 20 provinces, putting their more than 660,000 employees out of work.
Deputy Prime Minister Kittirat Na Ranong said damage from the two and a half months of floods was likely to cost the country’s manufacturing sector more than $3.3 billion. The disaster has also killed 315 people.
Bangkok Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra on Tuesday said workers are racing to reinforce 4 miles of makeshift dikes along the north of the city. The government-run Thai News Agency reported him as saying the government promised 1 million sandbags to beef up the dikes at the at-risk area. He said about 1,500 people have volunteered to help.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra expressed confidence Bangkok could be saved from the deluge, but late last week, she said the same thing about a massive industrial estate north of the capital. On Monday its barriers were breached and it flooded. A survey of Bangkok residents found nearly nine out of 10 do not trust the information from the government’s Flood Relief Operations Command, set up to deal with the floods.
Assumption University’s ABAC Poll Research Center queried 415 people on Monday and Tuesday and found 87 percent did not trust the information. The tourism industry would have to reassess its target of 19 million arrivals for 2011, Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post. He said some countries have issued travel advisories to avoid flooded areas and that could cut the number of arrivals.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association said on Tuesday there was no need for travel agents and tourists to change their Thai travel plans. “All of Thailand’s airports are operating normally, including Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok,” it said. “All Bangkok hotels and major tourism attractions are also operating normally.” It added tourist operators organizing trips in the flooded areas were modifying their programs.
