BANGKOK, Oct 26, 2011 (AFP) - Thai authorities urged residents in flood-prone areas of Bangkok to evacuate Wednesday, warning them that the arrival of a massive deluge of water was imminent.
A huge runoff from the north equivalent to 480,000 Olympic swimming pools is expected to reach the capital at the same time as seasonal high tides, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
"Food and deliveries will become more difficult," he added. FROC said it was working on providing extra shelters across the city of 12 million people.
Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said that a large amount of water "will get to Bangkok tonight", after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said flood barriers might not be able to hold back the deluge.
During the holiday Government offices will be closed and authorities have urged public and private companies to allow their staff the time off, but the central bank said financial markets and banks would not shut.
Public schools in Bangkok, currently on holiday, are not expected to reopen until November 15, and several international schools have also delayed the return of pupils.
More than 600 inmates, including some on death row, were moved on Wednesday from the notorious Bang Kwang prison on the Chao Phraya riverbank -- better known as the "Bangkok Hilton".
Workers at Dusit Zoo, also near the waterway, also began to evacuate some of its residents, including spotted deer and antelopes, while structures were provided for lions to climb up to safety.
Adding to the deluged kingdom's woes are fears of crocodiles on the loose from flooded farms -- another three were captured Wednesday in Nonthaburi province, north of the capital.
"They are between 1.7 and 1.8 metres (five and a half and six feet) long," an official from the fisheries department told AFP, adding that they knew of no attacks on humans by the escaped reptiles, whose numbers remain unclear.
The country's worst flooding crisis in decades has been plagued by contradictory information from national and local authorities, confusing Bangkok residents who have been bracing for the onslaught of water for days.
Yingluck said on Wednesday she was "fifty percent confident that the inner zone of Bangkok will not be completely flooded," toning down comments from a day before when she said flooding in central Bangkok was "highly likely".
She said a "worst-case scenario" would see parts of the low-lying city inundated by "more than one metre" of water.
"Initially, the floods in Bangkok will last for two weeks to one month," she added.
Many supermarkets were running low on essential items such as bottled water and eggs as residents stocked up on goods ahead of the expected deluge, and the premier advised people to boil tap water before consuming it.
More than 370 people have been killed in the three-month flood crisis caused by unusually heavy monsoon rains, damaging the homes of millions of people and forcing tens of thousands into evacuation centres.
Bangkok's main international airport, Suvarnabhumi, is operating as normal but the domestic Don Mueang airport in the north of the city suspended flights on Tuesday until November 1, after waters started seeping onto the runways.
About 4,000 flood evacuees who had found refuge at a disused terminal on the compound were being moved to other shelters.
The disaster is expected to shave around one percent off Thailand's economic growth in 2011, according to the government, which on Tuesday announced a raft of measures to help flood-affected businesses in an bid to reassure investors.
Proposals to boost investor confidence include about $10 billion in soft loans and tax waivers.
<한글기사>
물난리 방콕.. 떠다니는 악어 공포
50년 만의 대홍수로 수도 방콕 전역이 물에 잠길 위기에 처한 태국에서 악어에 대한 공포가 증가하고 있다고 월스트리트저널(WSJ) 이 27일 보도했다.
지난 7월부터 계속된 홍수가 악어 농장을 덮치면서 악어 100여 마리가 방콕 북부지역까지 쓸려 내려온 것으로 알려졌기 때문이다.
태국에서는 전 세계에 가방과 신발을 만드는 악어가죽을 공급하기 위해 800개가 넘는 농장에서 악어 수만 마리가 길러지고 있다.
대부분 민물 샴악어로 바다 악어보다 작고 덜 공격적인 것으로 알려져 있지만 주민들은 겁에 질려 있다.
악어와 함께 사는데 익숙해져 있다고는 하지만 지난 30년간의 놀라운 경제 성장은 태국을 홍수에 더 민감하게 만들었고 사람들은 예측하지 못한 야생의 위협에 덜 준비되게 했다.
둑에 서서 멀찌감치 홍수 피해를 본 집을 살펴보던 한 주민은 "집이 괜찮은지 확인하러 갔을 때 악어나 뱀이 기다리고 있을지도 모른다는 것은 정말 최악이다"고 말했다.
실제로 확인되지도 않았고 당국도 부인하고 있지만 악어가 공격했다는 소문 또한 공포감을 부추기고 있다.
일부 농장에서는 악어 한 마리를 안전하게 찾아올 때마다 최고 5천 바트에 달하는 포상금을 지급하겠다고 나섰다.
실제로 물에 잠긴 도시에서 보트를 타고 다니며 도망친 악어를 찾아오는 악어 사냥꾼도 등장했다.
태국 수산부는 그러나 악어는 물론 지역주민을 위해서 민간에서 임의로 악어를 잡는 것을 저지하는 한편 전기가 흐르는 소몰이 막대를 이용해 악어를 기절시켜 잡는 방법 등으로 사태 해결에 나섰다.
