Worst floods in 11 years hit Thailand and Myanmar

BANGKOK - The worst monsoon floods in more than a decade are sweeping through Myanmar and Thailand, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake, officials said on Wednesday.

At least 13 people have been killed over the last few days in army-ruled Myanmar, where the 690km main rail line between Yangon and Mandalay was among many severed connections, they said.

In Thailand, where 39 people have died in flash floods and landslides since August, the Chao Phraya river spilled into low-lying parts of Bangkok, a sprawling city of 10 million people.

In a desperate bid to prevent widespread flooding, authorities have been building sandbag and concrete defences along city centre river banks and diverting the flow upstream into rice fields near the ancient city of Ayutthaya.

High tides have also contributed to the danger, although officials said sea levels peaked on Tuesday, so the Thai capital should be spared unless there are huge amounts of rain up-country in the coming week.

"Bangkok is not likely to face floods in the next few days," said Sunsern Ruengrit of the Flood Control Centre in Bangkok, even though tourists to the capital's glittering Grand Palace had to wade through knee-deep water.

High tides are due to return on Oct 25 and 26, suggesting the threat is far from gone and the Meteorological office is forecasting more downpours in the next few days.

The floods - the worst since 1995 - in Thailand's rural and mountainous north have already left their mark, sweeping away roads, bridges, and schools and ruining crops.

Around 2 million people in 46 of the country's 76 provinces have been affected, officials estimate.

The Health Ministry says 230,000 people have been hit by flood-related diseases and urged those in affected areas not to urinate or excrete into the water to prevent the spread of infection.

The floods have also taken their toll on farmers in the world's largest rice exporter, with officials estimating more than 3 billion baht ($80 million) in crop damage.

There are still concerns for the safety of the ancient temple complex of Ayutthaya, a World Heritage site 75km north of Bangkok, where the Chao Phrya is dangerously close to bursting its banks.

- REUTERS