Thailand flood summary

Major flooding occurred during the 2011 monsoon season in Thailand, most severely in the Chao Phraya but also in the Mekong River basin. Beginning in late July and continuing for over two months. The flooding has been described as "the worst flooding yet in terms of the amount of water and people affected". The flooding has inundated about six million hectares of land, of which over 300,000 hectares is farmland, in fifty-eight provinces, from Chiang Mai in the North to parts of the capital city of Bangkok. As of 13 October, flooding has affected 2,250,469 people from 761,044 families, with 283 deaths and two missing persons reported by the 24/7 Emergency Operation Center for Flood, Storm and Landslide (EOC). Damage estimates of up to 156.7 billion baht (5.1 billion USD) have been made by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. A large part of the damage stems from the effect on the manufacturing industry, with 930 factories in 28 provinces affected, including multiple industrial estates in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani Provinces which have been flooded. The flooding has been estimated to result in decrease 0.6 to 0.9 percent in economic growth. Schools, 1,053 of which have been affected as of 19 September, were forced to end the term early. Currently, the Mekong flooding is threatening Bangkok and Phnom Penh. Bangkok hasnt encounter serious flooding since the 1970s. Death toll at 269 in Thailand, 183 in Cambodia, 30 in Laos and 18 in Vietnam, including 16 children.