23 Oct 2011

Bangkok braces for more flooding

2:28 pm on 23 October 2011

Thailand's prime minister has invoked natural disaster law as floods again bear down on Bangkok.

Yingluck Shinawatra has warned all Bangkok residents to be prepared.

Thailand has been affected by three months of heavy monsoon rains that have killed 356 people.

Thailand's military has been ordered to protect key buildings in Bangkok, the ABC reports.

The floods are expected to last four to six weeks as a mass of water drains from the north into the sea.

The Government has been building new sandbag walls and mud embankments to keep the water out.

Floodgates north of the capital have been opened to allow water to drain into the sea.

Areas in the outer northeast and west of the capital city remain the most vulnerable.

Water is already waist-deep water in parts of Bangkok's northern outskirts.