Thailand flood update
Death-toll jumps above 500
09/11/2011 / EMERGENCY
Overview:
The death toll from Thailand's worst floods in decades surpassed
500 this week as the seemingly unstoppable waters crept deeper into
Bangkok.
The deaths have all occurred outside the city so far. More than
nine million people, including one million children across the
country have been affected in total.
Bangkok authorities believe it will take up to a month to drain
the city of water.
The Ministry of Labour has announced more than 20,000 companies
employing almost 800,000 people in 16 provinces have been affected.
More than 5,000 people have been laid off so far.
Health concerns:
The Government's Disease Control department has assured the
public that although instances of communicable diseases have been
detected, they do not pose a serious risk at this stage. There was
one case of cholera in Bangkok but disease control measures were
immediately put in place.
The top health risks and cause of death are drowning,
water-borne diseases and electrocution from submerged power points.
Other dangers include vector-borne diseases (rats) and poisonous
snakes swimming in the murky floodwaters.
Millions of livestock have perished in the floods, so diseases
spread by decomposing carcasses is a huge concern. In addition,
there is a danger wounds (broken skin) caused by floating debris
could become infected by the contaminated water, potentially
causing death.
The task ahead
Bangkok will face a tough task getting rid of more than three
million tonnes of trash and treating huge volumes of dirty water
left behind by the flood. A key problem is the authorities can't
send garbage trucks to flooded areas and won't be able to for some
time. Meanwhile 9.4 million people are expected to generate about
500 kilograms of rubbish each in the coming weeks.
Relief efforts
All assessments show those who have sought shelter at evacuation
centers, have been relatively well cared for. Regrettably,
thousands of people have chosen to stay put in their homes - mainly
because they are afraid of losing their possessions to looting.
This situation makes the relief effort much more difficult.
Aid distribution is currently being done from house to house,
often by boat. Those families, who have their own boats or rafts
are traveling to evacuation centers or other community meeting
places to pick up relief kits or cooked meals themselves.
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