Floodgates opened to save Thai capital

A Thai resident braves chest-deep floods in Rangsit district at the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. Photo / AP

Thailand's new Prime Minister yesterday opted for a high-risk gamble to try and save Bangkok from devastating flooding by allowing some of the surging waters to enter the city.

By deciding to proceed with a controlled release of water through the city's network of canals, Yingluck Shinawatra and her senior officials are hoping to ensure any flooding to the capital city reaches no more than ankle deep. But they admit what they are doing is a gamble that could go wrong.

"Originally, we believed four areas of Bangkok might be flooded. Now it will be more than that," said Sean Boonpracong, a spokesman for the flood relief effort. "But if we do this now, we hope the water will only be ankle deep. It's like having a bottle of water and pouring it out over a wide area instead of all in one place."

The authorities in Thailand have for weeks been battling to keep at bay floodwaters that people say have not been seen for generations. Some believed the worst danger had passed, and that a combination of dykes, tunnels and other defences were holding back all but minor flooding. But in the last few days, it has become clear that the amount of water bearing down on the city was greater than previously thought.

"We must allow the water to flow through. Very little has been driven to the sea," said Yingluck.

"There's no way to drain out water because we are blocking it. Sometimes blocking the water caused the barriers to deteriorate, because we didn't design them to act as dams. Today we have exhausted every resource we have to slow down the water," she said.

The flooding has become a sharp test for the Government, led by the younger sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The death toll stands at 320, with 9 million people affected in 27 of the country's 77 districts.

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