Bangkok braces for flooding from high tides Severe flooding in Thailand Friday threatened central areas of Bangkok, a bustling capital barely above sea level and facing inundation at the next high tide predicted at 13 feet. Residents who decided to stay in their homes despite government pleas to get out waited anxiously to see if the highest tide, forecast for Saturday afternoon, would overwhelm defenses along the Chao Phraya River and its many canals. Bangkok's outer suburbs are already submerged but the the central city has so far been largely spared the misery Thailand has been suffering for months in the nation's worst flooding since 1942. But now the city must face two converging demons of water. Runoff the equivalent of 480000 Olympic-sized pools are trying to make their way south to the sea through Bangkok as high tide pushes the water in the opposite direction. "The challenge is to manage the huge runoff from the north passing via the city on its way to the Gulf of Thailand," said a Red Cross bulletin. The high tide Saturday, the Red Cross said, will put "extreme pressure" on Bangkok's elaborate system of dikes and other flood defenses. Meanwhile health concerns rose with the water levels. Bangkok residents waded through murky waters without knowing what lurked within, the risk of infection and communicable disease worrying health officials.The government sent out crocodile hunters after reports of crocodiles as well as snakes in the filthy floodwater. "We were <b>...</b>
thailand flood
thailand
flood
flooding
thailand flooding
thailand tsunami
tsunami
2012
global warming
earthquake
bangkok
bangkok thailand
encrypt
777
