Only some families in the flooded area have been evacuated to higher ground.

Nguyen Dinh Khanh, residing in Sivali village, Lamlucka district, Pathum Thani province, said the floodwaters arrived on October 22 and the whole first storey of his house was submerged on October 23. His family was rescued by boat to the centre of the capital.

By October 23, the floodwaters continued flowing into the capital’s suburbs from Pathum Thani and Nontha Buri provinces, even near Donmuaeng airport where the Flood Relief Operations Centre (FROC) was set up.

The Thai Government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra vowed to protect the inner districts from flooding by pumping the water out into the sea before the tidal waves crash ashore between October 28-30.