BANGKOK (Reuters) ? Relief workers reinforced barriers on Sunday to help defend Thailand's capital, Bangkok, from the country's worst floods in half a century and efforts were stepped up to protect a huge industrial estate to the city's north.
Despite heavy rain in parts of Bangkok late on Saturday, areas inside the defensive system of dikes and canals have so far been spared the flooding that has devastated a third of the country, killing at least 297 people and causing about $3 billion in damage.
The north, northeast and center of Thailand have been worst hit and Bangkok -- much of it only two meters (6.5 ft) above sea level -- is at risk as water overflows from reservoirs in the north, swelling the Chao Phraya river that winds through the densely populated and low-lying city.
The river was reported to be at a record high level of 2.15 meters (seven feet) at one point on Saturday but the embankment wall running along it in inner Bangkok is at least 2.5 meters high and has been raised along vulnerable stretches.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has sought to reassure residents they should be safe but people have still stocked up on bottled water, instant noodles, rice and canned goods, emptying shelves in some major markets.
Many have parked their cars in elevated garages and piled sandbags in front of shop-houses and homes.
Water from the north approached Bangkok over the weekend, coinciding with high estuary tides that hamper the flow of water into the sea.
"We will protect strategic areas and the heart of the economy such as industrial zones, the central part of all provinces and the Thai capital as well as Suvarnabhumi Airport, industrial estates and evacuation centres," Yingluck said on Saturday, referring to Bangkok's main international airport.
On Sunday, the focus was on Nava Nakorn industrial estate in Pathum Thani province north of Bangkok, which is standing in the way of one flow of water toward the capital.
Thai media reported that some 600 soldiers and workers from the estate, Thailand's oldest with more than 200 factories, were working round the clock to strengthen its walls and divert water.
Nation TV reported that water was just 10 cm (four4 inches) below the top of the estate's 4.5 meters high wall.
Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Nakhon Sawan provinces north of Bangkok have been devastated. Floods have swallowed up homes and swamped three huge industrial parks, including the Bang Pa-In estate on Saturday in Ayutthaya.
Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co Ltd has shut its Ayutthaya plant, which accounts for 4.7 percent of its global output, and says it will stay closed until October 21.
(Additional reporting by Jutarat Skulpichetrat and Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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