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    October 19, 2011

Thai PM Appeals for Unity as Floods Threaten Capital

   VOA News
   Thai Monk Watches Flood Waters Pushing Into Sai Mai Temple, North Edge
   of Bangkok
   Photo: VOA - D. Schearf
   Thai Monk Watches Flood Waters Pushing Into Sai Mai Temple, North Edge
   of Bangkok

   Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is calling for all
   political factions to unite as soldiers and workers struggle to shore
   up dikes protecting Bangkok against raging floodwaters.

   Thai Flood Volunteers Unload Sandbags in Front of Flooded Temple at
   North Edge of Bangkok

VOA - D. Schearf

   Thai Flood Volunteers Unload Sandbags in Front of Flooded Temple at
   North Edge of Bangkok

   Hundreds of soldiers and volunteers heaped sandbags into breaches in
   dikes protecting industrial and housing estates north of the capital
   Wednesday. A government warning identified several districts that could
   be inundated because of "complications" in the operation of the dikes.
   An army lieutenant, Chainarong Duanram, warned that a sewage treatment
   pond in one estate was threatened. "Behind us is the sewage pool for
   the (Bang Kadi) industry estate. The waste water treatment pond will
   overflow if water comes in from the canal, then it will enter the area
   of the factories,'' Duanram.
   He said if the pond is flooded, the sewage will flow into the
   factories.
   Yingluck toured affected areas by helicopter Wednesday, and afterward
   told reporters she cannot handle the crisis by herself. She urged
   opposition parties to set aside politics and cooperate with her
   government to restore people's morale.
   Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who was defeated by Yingluck
   this year, did not respond directly to her appeal, but he warned that
   the capital is still at risk from the nation's worst flooding in 50
   years. "We are still very concerned because there is still a mass of
   water that's coming down from the north, and, you know, as you know it
   still rains, and also high tide will come back in about couple of weeks
   time," Vejjajiva stated.
   Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra had declared the crisis largely
   over on Monday. But he said Wednesday he is still very worried. "This
   is more difficult to manage. I cannot be optimistic. I have to make all
   possible preparations and hope for the best," he said.
   Despite its problems, the government Wednesday announced a donation of
   almost $100,000 in flood relief for neighboring Cambodia, which has
   been equally hard-hit. The floods, have also deluged Vietnam, Laos and
   the Philippines, killing more than 700 people across Southeast Asia.
   Yingluck's government has been working to repair relations with
   Cambodia following a series of border clashes that killed 28 people
   this year.

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