Bangkok: Floodwaters in Thailand on Tuesday breached barriers defending Bangkok`s second airport and have
begun seeping into the compound, forcing at least one airline
based there to suspend flights for a week, officials said.
It was not immediately clear how much water had entered
Don Muang airport, which is primarily used for domestic
flights. An airport official confirmed water had crept inside,
but said runways were unaffected and flights were still
operating normally.
Budget airline Nok Air suspended operations at Don Muang
until Nov 1 "because water has entered the north side of the
airport already," the company`s CEO Patee Sarasin told The
Associated Press.
Patee said all airborne planes will be diverted to
Bangkok`s Suvarnabhumi Airport, the country`s main
international gateway. He said refunds would be given as
needed.
Thailand`s government says the death toll from
catastrophic flooding nationwide has risen to 366 since they
began in late July.
The Flood Relief Operations Centre, which is based at Don
Muang airport, said water levels in provinces north of Bangkok
are stable or subsiding, but the massive runoff is still
bearing down on the city as it flows south toward the Gulf of
Thailand.
Authorities have declared seven of the capital`s 50
districts at risk and those zones, located in the north and
northwest, are experiencing minor flooding. But most of
Bangkok is dry.
Late yesterday, Gov Suhumbhand Paribatra warned residents
in the northwestern Bang Phlat district to move their
belongings to higher ground after water from the Chao Phraya
River crept in through a subway construction site.
PTI
