Thailand announced a five-day holiday on Tuesday to give people the chance to escape floods closing in on Bangkok as the prime minister warned that the capital could face an inundation of 1.5 metres (nearly five feet) of water if barriers collapsed.
The cabinet declared October 27-31 a holiday in Bangkok and 20 provinces affected by the country's worst flooding in 50 years as weekend high tides in the Gulf of Thailand could complicate efforts to divert water from the low-lying capital.
Financial markets will remain open. As water levels climbed, some of those already evacuated were preparing to be evacuated again, with 4,000 people sheltering at a northern Bangkok airport told they would be moved to the eastern province of Chon Buri. The floods have killed at least 366 people since mid-July and disrupted the lives of nearly 2.5 million, with more than 113,000 in shelters and 720,000 seeking medical attention.
Authorities are scrambling to pump out water around the east and west of Bangkok but record-high water levels in the Chao Phraya river that winds through the city raise the risk of floods in the commercial heart when the high tides come.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra warned in a televised address that central Bangkok, which authorities have been struggling to protect, could be swamped by up to 1.5 metres (nearly five feet) of water if barriers broke. She told residents to get their belongings up high and get ready. She said authorities would guard important places such as the royal palace and power stations and do their best to limit damage and pump water out of the city.