Thai historical city copes with floods and crocodiles

As the death toll in Thailand's worst floods in five decades rose to 252, Ayutthaya is now coping with various problems caused by floods. The historical city of Thailand Ayutthaya, only 76 km from Bangkok, is a former capital of Siam and homes 400-year-old castles and temples. The flood has threatened the 370-year-old Chaiwatthanaram Temple, one of the country's most famous tourist attractions, across the Chao Phraya River. Local authorities are struggling to fight severe flooding to save the historic site. Under the plan to save the World Heritage sites and its 32 acre surroundings, the authorities are trying first to block further water intrusions by reinforcing the sandbag embankments and plugging the section of breached dyke before pumping out the flood water, according to the Mass Communication of Thailand. However, the attempt is tedious and time-consuming, a process obstructed by the swift, strong waterflow as flat-bottomed boats are able to reach the damaged dyke and carry only one sand bag at a time. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Friday offered help to Thai government to help protect Thailand's World Heritage site in flood-hit province. UNESCO notified the Thai government through its office in Bangkok that it is ready to help Ayutthaya in central region of Thailand to cope with floods and provide emergency assistance to help save other listed World Heritage sites in the province if requested. The former capital of Siam is also home to a few industrial plants. Factories from Honda Motor Co. and Sony Corp. in industrial parks in Ayutthaya province are at risk after floods caused nearby plants to shut down. The authority on Friday warned the industrial plants to temporary close from Friday until next Tuesday as the floods has inundated the province. Moreover, dozens of crocodiles have escaped from a farm in Ayutthaya's Bang Ban district after it was inundated by months of severe flooding and heavy rain, reports said on Friday. Authorities have warned people in tambon Ban Kum of the inundated province to watch out for about 25 escaped crocodiles. Reports said most of the missing reptiles were about one metre in length. The authority warned that people should not try to catch the crocodiles. Although the city has to cope with about 20 centimetres high flood, plus crocodiles, officials said people still refused to evacuate as they are worried about their belongings.