Bangkok: Ashu Khurana, an Indian national, cannot forget the force with which flood waters entered her three-storey house here and swallowed almost all her belongings like furniture and kitchen utensils, leaving her to wade through knee-high water to flee to safety along with her husband.

"The waters entered our house suddenly, no warning was issued by the authorities, we were taken by complete surprise," Ashu, who lives in the Thapra neighbourhood a few km outside the central downtown area said.
Ashu, an Art of Living instructor, broke down while recalling the nightmare that forced her out of her house on Friday.

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She and her husband Mani, a long time resident of Thailand, have since moved in to a hotel in downtown area.

Most of the houses in her predominantly Thai-Indian neighbourhood have been affected by the rapidly swirling waters.

The deluge has claimed 446 lives across the country so far in the worst ever floods in decades to hit Thailand. Many key roads have become inundated with flood waters which have so far escaped seeping into central Bangkok.

Flood waters reached Bangkok`s largest outdoor market of Chatuchak on Friday.

The country`s worst flooding has been spreading across Bangkok`s north and west for more than a week, and authorities have been struggling to protect the city center, home to hotels, businesses and condominiums with many expatriate Indians living along the busy Sukhumvit road. Many expatriate Indian women and children have rushed to help as volunteers at flood relief centres.

Vibha Kawatara, who runs a chain of Indian restaurants here, said her daughters Komal and Sonal were helping pack food packets for flood victims at the relief centres as their schools were closed due to uncertainty about flooding.

In a bid to divert some of the water in northern Bangkok, workers have completed a 6-km flood wall made from sand bags.

The floodwaters were also reportedly moving towards Lad Phrao district.

The floods, caused by unusually heavy monsoon rains, have destroyed millions of hectares of crops and forced thousands of factories to close. Food and vegetable prices have soared while dry food, canned food and water have vanished off supermarket shelves.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who assumed office only two months back, said a plan would be put before the Cabinet to allocate USD 3.3 billion for post-flood reconstruction. "I admit that this task has really exhausted me, but I will never give up. I just need the public to understand," she said.

The Suvarnabhumi International Airport is open and not affected by the floods.

PTI