Predicted high tides this weekend have caused thousands of Bangkok residents to evacuate the city for drier ground after the government announced an official five-day holiday. Three months of unusually heavy rains have left 381 dead and 110,000 displaced. An estimated 4.6 to 16 billion dollars in property destruction has also been wrought in areas of northern and central Thailand.

Although the major commercial areas of Bangkok have remained less affected, some residential areas are heavily submerged. On Sunday, water levels were expected to reach 2.6meters, or over 8 feet. Despite the destruction, many breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the economic core of Bangkok, and major world producer of computer hard disk drives, is still intact.

However, Bangkok officials are hesitant to admit victory over the deluge when flood waters offer an ideal breeding ground for diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Clean drinking water has also become limited, and many international governments are issuing travel advisory statements.

Some residents outside of major cities have become cut off from relief efforts and supplies. UNICEF is providing thousands of mosquito nets to limit the spread of disease, and the Red Cross is donating bottled water and relief kits.

The Washington Post notes the vast environmental differences concerning flooded and dry sections of Bangkok, home to over 9 million people.

“The desperate images of disaster contrast sharply with scenes of total normality — from night-owls drinking cocktails in red-light districts to tourists enjoying relaxing foot massages in faux-leather chairs downtown.”

CNN.com reports, “Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has urged stores not to stockpile goods, amid concerns that panic buying was leading to a shortage of essential items.” The government warns citizens that although they are trying to speed the process of draining flood water into canals and the sea, it may take over a month for water levels to return to normal.

This method of coping has not left everyone satisfied. Frustrated by the lack of concrete information being dispersed by the government, filmmaker Kriangkrai Vachiratamtorn created a viral animation that explains why the floodwaters are particularly high this year.

Vachiratamtorn likens the floodwaters to a pod of 50 million whales trying to make their way through Bangkok to the Gulf of Thailand. The video series has already seen over 700,000 hits and can be watched with English subtitles at: http://www.youtube.com/user/roosuflood#p/u/4/b8zAAEDGQPM

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At least 283 people have been killed in Thailand by unseasonably wet weather affecting two million people and forcing more than 40,000 people to flee their homes. Thailand is witnessing the worst flooding in half a century – submerging cities, industrial parks and ancient temples as it comes.

According to Save The Children, an estimate of up to 500,000 young people may have been affected by the disaster while thousands of roads and bridges and hundreds of buildings have been damaged and swathes of land remain swamped by flood waters. The Thai cabinet has allocated 6.13bn Baht to help flood victims.

According to the public health ministry, Nakhon Si Thammarat is the worst affected area where one person is missing. Australian Ben Garden, who flew into Koh Samui for a friend’s wedding on Friday, described the situation as “scary and dire.”

According to Smith Dhamasarojana, a former director-general of Thailand’s Meteorological department, authorities in Thailand did not release enough water from the dams earlier this year because they feared water shortages in the dry season. According to him, authorities miscalculated the amount of rainfall and they also failed to manage the water.

The monsoon season this year has brought disaster to Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam well as Thailand. Thousands of people have been displaced as typhoons have literally battered the country to pieces. Thousands of tourists have been stranded as trains to the region have been canceled and three airports have been shut.

Many Australians are among more than 15,000 tourists trapped on holiday islands after the storms and floods hit southern Thailand. A tourist association spokesman said that about 13,000 tourists have been trapped on Koh Samui alone, and that they have advised tourist to stay in hotels and not to travel to the airport until the situation returns to normal.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who visited the area, ordered the evacuation of everyone living in the region. The Thailand Government said it was deploying its only air craft carrier to rescue 1000 people stranded in the region. Economic toll of these floods can’t be easily valued precisely at the moment, but according to reports, floods have already inundated many industrial parks and manufacturing centers.

In areas where flood water have breached walls of industrial estates, Honda and Toyota industry has been forced to shut down their assembly plants. Economist fear that Thailand’s most severe floods in decades may cost the country up to $5 billion and may reduce its Gross Domestic Product by about one percent.

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