Thai int'l airport will not be inundated

The Thai authorities on Tuesday re- affirmed that the International Suvarnabhumi Airport, situated in the south of Bangkok, will not be inundated, the Bangkok Post online reported. Wilaiwan Nadwilai, Suvarnabhumi airport spokeswoman said the 23. 5-kilometer earth dyke surrounding the airport has been reinforced as part of the measures taken to prevent it from flooding. She added that airport officials have drawn up a plan to prevent flooding and met with representatives of airlines, businesses and government agencies about immediate steps to take when the floodwaters from the North arrive in Bangkok in a few days. The Rural Roads Department has been asked to quickly dredge the Lat Krabang canal, not far from the airport, to improve the flow of water to the south. In the area south of the Suvarnabhumi airport, the Royal Irrigation Department will drain water out to the Thai Gulf, if necessary. The Suvarnabhumi airport itself is surrounded by a 23.5km long, three meter-high earth dyke. It was being checked and reinforced, she said. Inside the area protected by the dyke there are canals to drain water into six reservoirs which can hold a total of four million cubic meters of water, she said. Wilaiwan added that the airport management has confidence in its preparedness to cope with any threat of flooding. A total of 269 people were dead and four people were missing in the floods that have inundated the upper part of the country for almost three months.