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    October 17, 2011

Bangkok Avoids Flooding, Residents Still On Guard

   VOA News
   Thai workers hold their luggage as they leave Nava Nakorn Industrial
   Estate in Pathum Thani province, on the outskirts of Bangkok October
   17, 2011. Photo: Reuters
   Thai workers hold their luggage as they leave Nava Nakorn Industrial
   Estate in Pathum Thani province, on the outskirts of Bangkok October
   17, 2011.

   Thai authorities expressed relief Monday as floodwaters in the Chao
   Phraya River passed their crest stage and began receding without
   breaching the barriers protecting Bangkok.
   However, some wary residents are continuing to fortify the capital's
   flood walls with sandbags, despite assurances from officials that the
   city will not be inundated.
   "I will continue doing this because everything is still uncertain," one
   resident told reporters. "Until everything is more settled, we will
   keep doing it. We need more sandbags not only for this spot, but for
   other locations too, behind the village and railway which have already
   been flooded."
   Another resident, Sivachai NoonKhaow, said he will keep working until
   he is sure his neighborhood is safe.
   Officials say more than 300 people have died in the country's worst
   flooding in half a century. In provinces north of the capital,
   thousands of people remain hungry and homeless in half-submerged towns.
   Valerie Amos, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs,
   said late Saturday that more than 700 people have died in flooding in
   Cambodia and Thailand.
   The statement said that in Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam, homes,
   crops and vital infrastructure have been destroyed. Millions of people
   living in low-lying areas remain vulnerable to further destruction.
   Amos said the U.N. stands ready to support national-led responses.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.