Flood barriers around Thai capital hold up so far
By THANYARAT DOKSONE and TODD PITMAN - Associated Press | AP – 1 hr 28 mins agoRELATED CONTENT
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BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — An elaborate system of defenses protecting Thailand's capital from high waters sweeping down from the north was holding up Sunday, protecting Bangkok from the worst floods to hit this Southeast Asian nation in decades.
Bangkok Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra said late Saturday he was worried about barriers on the northwest side of the city, saying they were not as strong as in other parts of Bangkok and water could flood around them and into the city from the west.
An Associated Press team that traveled to that area Sunday found no serious flooding in the district bordering on neighboring Nonthaburi and Nokhon Pathom provinces. Canals were not overflowing and, although some residents were still reinforcing sandbag walls, few were worried.
"People have faith these walls will work," said Pichitchai, a saffron-robed monk peaking over sandbags stacked along the edge of a canal that were protecting a Buddhist temple. The 36-year-old only has one name.
Over the last few days, government officials have voiced increasing confidence the capital would survive without major damage. On Sunday, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra echoed those sentiments again, saying "I believe Bangkok will be safe."
While Bangkok is mostly dry, some towns in provinces just to the north have been submerged in water, forcing thousand of people to flee.
Nationwide, 297 people have been killed since relentless monsoon rains began inundating the country in late July. Flood waters since then have swamped two-thirds of the country, drowning agricultural land, swamping hundreds of factories and swallowing low-lying villages along the way.
More than 200 major highways and roads are impassable, and the main rail lines to the north have been shut down. Authorities says property damage and losses could reach $3 billion dollars.
Much of those flood waters are now flowing south, and the water is being diverted into rivers that empty into the Gulf of Thailand through a complex system flood walls, canals, dikes and underground tunnels that are protect Bangkok.
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