Monsoon tragedy
October 10, 2011
Massive floods have left nearly 500 people dead across Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Authorities are stepping up efforts to reach victims of the unusually heavy monsoon rains.
Nearly 270 people have been killed in Thailand. Thousands of soldiers have fanned out across affected areas as part of a huge aid operation. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has described the situation as a "serious crisis." She said the next tropical depression was due in two days, but insisted the situation was under control.
The floods have damaged the homes or livelihoods of millions of people, particularly farmers, across about three quarters of the country's provinces. Bangkok, much of which is only two metres above sea level, has seen only minor flooding but officials are preparing for the worst this week and are considering evacuation plans for some sections of the city which has around 12 million people.
About 1.38 million hectares of farm land is under water nationwide. More than 700,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged. In the hard-hit central province of Ayutthaya, 198 factories in a big industrial estate, including an assembly plant of the Honda Motor Company, closed after flood waters breached a wall of sandbags at the weekend. According to Thailand's Industry Minister Wannarat Channukul, the initial cost of damage has crossed 645 million dollars in Ayutthaya province alone.
In neighbouring Cambodia, the death toll reached 207, a disaster official there said. More than 270,000 families have seen their homes waterlogged or livelihoods destroyed by the floods which have inundated 350,000 hectares of rice farms across the country, according to the authorities. 83 children have also fallen victim to the disaster, the deadliest since 2000.
The government, the Red Cross and several other relief organisations are working to provide aid, including urgent food deliveries, to the flood victims.
Officials estimate the damage to rice crops and infrastructure now totals at least 95 million dollars. Neighboring Vietnam has reported 24 deaths from flooding in the Mekong Delta.
Agencies: dpa, Reuters, AFP (mg)
Editor: Grahame Lucas