Monsoon death toll rising in South-East Asia

Heritage under water. The monsoon season threatens historic Thai temples at Ayutthaya. [ABC]

Wed, 5 Oct 2011
Radio Australia News

A severe monsoon season is wreaking havoc across South-East Asia, with nearly 300 people dead across Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines and 170 people dead in Cambodia.

In Thailand, floods have struck 58 of the country's 77 provinces.

The northern city of Chiang Mai was severely affected last week and as waters move along major rivers, areas closer to Bangkok are being inundated.

A makeshift dyke has been breached at the ancient city of Ayutthaya, near the capital, where historic temples are at risk.

Heritage

"The water level inside the temple grounds is now 1.5 metres," said Supoj Prommanoch, head of the Fine Arts Office in Ayutthaya.

He said 10 other temples were also flooded but the authorities were confident they could prevent the waters from reaching Ayutthaya's main World Heritage Park, which is located further away from the Chao Phraya River.

Authorities said Bangkok will be at risk of flooding for another month as excess water moves down the swollen Chao Phraya.

About 10,000 soldiers have been ordered in to help victims.

Army bases will also take in evacuees, the military said.

Forecast

"It's the worst flooding yet in terms of the amount of water and people affected," said an official at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation who preferred not to be name.

Forecasters warned of more wild weather to come.

They said several reservoirs were already full and the western and eastern outskirts of Bangkok are at risk of flooding because of another approaching tropical storm.

Red Cross spokesman Matt Cochrane told Connect Asia that 70,000 communities in at least 10 different provinces have flooded this monsoon season.

"There is a real fear, not about how bad it is, but about how bad it might get," he said.

Mr Cochrane said there is also real concern for people living in the Mekong Delta region in the south of Vietnam, where the river is already at a ten-year-high.

Listen to the full interview here.